Memorandum on Paris Climate Agreement

TO: President Donald J. Trump

FROM: Joanna Vodola, Student

DATE: April 26^th, 2018

SUBJECT: Memorandum on the United States involvement with the Paris Climate Agreement

            On December 12^th, 2015, the United Nations passed the Paris Climate Agreement by consensus at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to address the issue of climate change globally. The agreement had plans to deal with greenhouse emissions causing Climate Change. Since the agreement was adopted, 195 of the 196 countries to work on the agreement have signed it, and 176 of these nations have become party to it. While the United States initially agreed to the terms of the Paris Climate Agreement, President Donald J. Trump has recently announced the United States plan to withdraw their support. This change is one of many in recent months that our President has made to become less eco-friendly and more “pro-free trade”. This memo was drafted to urge President Trump to reconsider his position on the Paris Agreement and continue to support its efforts.

Context

While President Trump has denied the science of climate change on multiple occasions, his stance on the issue seems to be masquerading as a plan to become more pro-business. He has appointed Rick Perry as the Secretary of Energy despite his lack of background in the issue. Both President Trump and Secretary Perry have downplayed the role of human involvement in global warming. However, the evidence for human involvement in climate change has only increased. In the past fifty years, the average temperature of the Earth has increased at the record breaking rates. Since the year 2000, NASA has recorded the 16 hottest years in the past 134. However, the Trump Administration is ignoring these facts. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt supports Trump’s plans to eliminate all laws aimed at protecting the environment. In the past year, President Trump and Scott Pruitt have gotten rid of the Clean Water Rule, relaxed the regulations on car emission, and attempted to rescind the Clean Power Plan. Each of these laws was implemented to increase quality of air, water, and energy in the United States. To top it all off, President Trump has announced his plan to pull the United States support of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Task and Solution

             The Paris Climate Agreement itself has been at the forefront of many countries efforts to combat climate change. For example, China, the leading global contributor to greenhouse emissions, has increased their wind and solar, or clean energy, at the fastest pace in the world. India is another country that has increased its renewable energy capacity by 11.3GW. In addition, Canada is on track to phase out all traditional coal-fired electricity generators by the year 2030. However, the United States has undone many of their clean energy initiatives in since Trump took office. While the United States should continue to be pro-free trade and pro-business, the health and safety concerns surrounding global warming are of the utmost importance. The United States needs to follow the example of other nations and strive for a cleaner environment.

            By agreeing to the Paris Climate Agreement, the United States would be required to “put forth their best efforts at combatting climate change”. The agreement also states that 2018 will mark the first time the United Nations will monitor the global efforts of combatting climate change. Henceforth, the United Nations will review these efforts every five years. The main goal of the agreement is to promote eco-friendly energy alternatives and prevent the global temperature from rising more the two degrees Celsius a year. The agreement will also monitor the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of each country to global climate change and their efforts to combat it. These efforts will hopefully create a cleaner environment for all global citizens. However, the United States is the second largest contributor of carbon emissions in the world after China. While the Trump continues to strip the United States of all environmental protection laws, China continues to become more environmentally friendly. These trends may allow the United States to surpass China as the leading nation contributing to climate change. With this circumstance as a possibility and the threat that climate change poses on public health and safety, the United States should reinstate their eco-friendly initiatives and laws, and continue to support the Paris Climate Agreement.

Evidence

            While President Trump’s administration may downplay the actual impact of global warming, the evidence that global warming is occurring due to human involvement is overwhelming. In the past fifty years, the global temperature has risen faster than ever before recorded. While some attribute this change in temperature to naturally occurring climate change, carbon emission caused by humans has been proven to be the leading cause of this change in the global climate. The transportation sector alone contributes approximately 1.7 billion tons of CO2 emissions a year. Carbon emissions themselves come from the fossil fuels used around the world such as coal and gasoline. The effect of global warming also poses health and safety threats to United States citizens. Rising sea levels may cause coastal flooding, and extreme weather caused by changing weather patterns could devastate communities. These problems can hopefully be avoided if President Trump’s administration changes their attitude and stance on climate change.

Implementation

            In order for the United States to avoid the ramifications of climate change, the Trump administration must implement laws promoting the use of clean energy and regulating the use and disposal of chemicals and emissions harmful to the environment. I urge President Trump to also set an example for other nations and remain in support of the Paris Climate Agreement in order to combat the results of climate change globally. With the help of the United States, climate change due to human interaction with environment can be stopped.