Should the US Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement?

2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SITE

Last updated on: 1/21/2020 10:55:36 AM PST

The Paris Climate Agreement, also called the International Climate Agreement, has been adopted by 197 nations. The agreement's goal is reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century. The agreement includes ways to accomplish this goal, including pollution reduction, transparent monitoring, and paths for nations to aid developing nations in meeting their goals. President Obama joined the Paris Agreement via executive action in Sep. 2016 and the agreement went into effect on Nov. 4, 2016.

The Trump administration officially announced withdrawal from the agreement on Nov. 4, 2019 with an offical exit date of Nov. 4, 2020. Any future president could rejoin the agreement within a month's time.

Source: NRDC, "Paris Climate Agreement: Everything You Need to Know," nrdc.org, Dec. 12, 2018

Pro

Biden

Hawkins

Con

Jorgensen

Trump

Not Clear or Not Found

Pro (Yes)

Pro

Biden
Democrat

"Biden will rejoin the Paris Agreement, but simply rejoining is not enough. Biden will use every tool of American foreign policy to push the rest of the world to raise their ambitions alongside the United States. A Biden Administration will:

Re-enter the Paris Agreement on day one of the Biden Administration and lead a major diplomatic push to raise the ambitions of countries’ climate targets. The Paris Agreement was a historic breakthrough for the world, and reflected the power of patient, strategic diplomacy in service of America’s long-term national interests. The core of the agreement relies on countries continually increasing the ambition of their climate targets over time. But since President Trump came into office, America has abdicated its own commitment to this agreement, and other major emitting nations have not moved fast enough to achieve their own goals."

Source: Joe Biden, "Climate," joebiden.com (accessed Jan. 13, 2020)

Pro

Hawkins
Green

"On July 29, I signed the 350 Action’s Day One Pledge, which asks presidential candidates to take four steps their first day in office:

Reject all new federally-approved coal, oil, gas, and other fossil fuel project permits.
Phase out oil and gas drilling and fracking on public lands and off our coasts.
Rejoin the Paris Climate Accord.
Ask Congress to investigate the fossil fuel industry’s role in misleading the public and stalling climate action, and to prepare to hold the industry accountable.

I am still the only presidential candidate to have signed the pledge to date."

Source: Howie Hawkins, "8/22/19: On Day One, the next President Should Declare a Climate Emergency," howiehawkins.us, Aug. 22, 2019

Con (No)

Con

Jorgensen
Libertarian

"No. The Paris Climate agreement gives unelected, unaccountable international bureaucrats authority over the US. We must maintain sovereign control of our energy future. My plan to reduce and streamline nuclear energy regulations will allow the construction of many more plants, providing a safe and zero-emissions form of energy."

Source: Communication from the Jorgensen campaign to ProCon.org on Aug. 26, 2020

Con

Trump
Republican

"I withdrew the United States from the terrible, one-sided Paris Climate Accord. It was a total disaster for our country. And I thought when I did that, it would be very tough. And all I do is get applauded for that move, so much. It would've been so bad for our country. They were taking away our wealth. It was almost as though it was meant to hurt the competitiveness — really, competitiveness of the United States. So, we did away with that one.

The Paris Accord would've been a giant transfer of American wealth to foreign nations that are responsible for most of the world’s pollution. Our air right now and our water right now is as clean as it's been in decades. The Paris Accord would've been shutting down American producers with excessive regulatory restrictions like you would not believe, while allowing foreign producers to pollute with impunity. They were allowed to do what they were doing."

Source: Donald Trump, "Remarks by President Trump at 9th Annual Shale Insight Conference | Pittsburgh, PA," whitehouse.gov, Oct. 23, 2019

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