Trump Was Right on Paris Climate Decision, But Needs to Do More

Why would we want to remain in a club that’s organized to pressure and browbeat us into acting against our best interests and better judgment? Suppose also that someone signed us up without our consent. Why would we reward such trickery and endure years of nagging, scolding, and bad advice?
Those are the questions that continue to face President Trump one year after he announced his decision to pull America out of the fossil-fuel haters club—the U.N. sponsored Paris climate treaty.

Trump made the right decision. Unfortunately, under his plan to withdraw from the treaty, America will remain in the Paris Agreement until the day after the 2020 elections. That means the next president could rejoin the pact with a stroke of the pen, picking up where President Obama left off.

Trump chose a slow withdrawal procedure in hopes of negotiating a “better deal” that is “fair” to U.S. businesses and workers. He faulted Obama for committing America to implement costly emission cuts by 2025 while India’s and China’s emissions continue to rise on autopilot through 2030.

However, even if Trump could rescind the current U.S. emission-reduction pledge—an option contrary to the language of the Paris Agreement—remaining in the pact would still endanger America’s economic future and political independence.

Click here to read the full article on The Washington Times.