President Obama’s UN Climate Plan Ignores American People and Congress

Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute responded to the Obama Administration’s submission of its intended nationally-determined contribution (INDC) to the United Nations:

“President Obama has pursued his domestic climate agenda without trying to build support for it with the American people or in Congress, and today’s INDC submission is no different. The President thinks he can make an international commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions by up to 28 percent of 2005 levels, and thereby limit economic growth, without consulting Congress. The administration is making this commitment to the forthcoming Paris Accord under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change without any authorization from Congress and without broad public support. Governments in other countries should be aware that the President’s plan is dead on arrival in Congress.   

“The U.S.’s INDC goes far beyond the commitments undertaken by the Clinton Administration under the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. But the Senate did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol, and the Congress refused to enact cap-and-trade legislation or any other significant climate legislation. Nor has Congress given any indication that it will support major elements in the plan submitted to the UN. The largest single component of the plan is the EPA’s proposed Clean Air Act regulations to reduce emissions from power plants. These rules are being challenged in federal court by at least 13 states and are opposed by a majority in both the House and Senate.”