Politics

Here's Why Everyone is Talking About the Paris Agreement This Morning

May 31st 2017

A report from an unnamed White House source claiming President Donald Trump will back out of the Paris Agreement has prompted wild speculation.

"President Donald Trump is expected to pull the United States from a landmark global climate agreement, a White House official said Wednesday, though there could be 'caveats in the language' announcing a withdrawal, leaving open the possibility that his decision isn’t final," according to AP reports Wednesday.

Trump added to speculation with a tweet Wednesday morning.

If the U.S. were to opt out, we would join only two other countries not part of the agreement.

Developing countries Syria and Nicaragua are the only other nations who haven't signed onto the Paris Agreement, which concerns climate change. As The Washington Post reported on May 16 (emphasis ours):

"Leaving the agreement would displace the U.S. from a stance of global leadership and place it alongside just two non-participating countries: Syria, which is in the midst of a civil war, and Nicaragua, who refused to join because the Paris Agreement didn’t go far enough. Even countries such as Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are among the poorest in the world and were struggling with an Ebola epidemic at the time, have signed on."

Lawmakers are writing on Twitter their reactions to the possibility of the U.S. pulling out.

Democratic lawmakers are not holding back with how they feel about the idea of the United States possibly not being part of the agreement.

It isn't just about the environment; withdrawing from the Paris Agreement would also negatively impact the standing of the United States in the world. "Pulling out of the Paris agreement would be an unforced error in the sense of undermining our diplomatic efforts going forward. For the rest of the world this is a central issue for foreign policy," Nat Keohane, vice president for global climate at the Environmental Defense Fund, told The Washington Post.

If you think it's important to combat climate change and for the United States to stay in the Paris Agreement, Twitter users are suggesting contacting your representatives:

Axios was first to break the report early Wednesday morning.

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