The major piece of legislature President Trump has rescinded is the Clean Power Plan, which was forcing US states to reduce their carbon emissions to keep in line with the US' commitments to the Paris Climate agreement. Also, during the president's first trip to the EPA, he signed the Energy Independence Executive Order, which cuts their regulations in order to support President Trump's plan of cutting the agency's budget by a third. There will also be less restrictive regulations regarding methane gas emissions from the oil industry, and more freedom to sell coal from federal lands.
Environmentalists are infuriated by President Trump's actions. They have already declared that they are prepared to fight these repeals in court. Earthjustice, a environmentalist group, said it would challenge the measure in and out of court. "I think it is a climate destruction plan in place of a climate action plan," the Natural Resources Defense Council's David Doniger told the BBC, adding that they will also be taking this matter to court. But, this may not be the best course of action. While these measures will be running the gauntlet of the US legal system, they will still be enforceable, which is just what Trump and Fossil Fuel companies want.
Needless to say, this will cause significant problems for the US if they still wish to meet their COP21 agreements. At this point, President Trump has not officially come out and stated that the US will be pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, but while campaigning for the presidency, President Trump argued that what the US pledged to do was ultimately unfair. Also, it is well known that President Trump has said in the past that climate change was a made up thing "created by and for the Chinese". It would not be a shock if he did decide to pull out of the pact. The only comforting fact is that the EU, China, and India have already stated that they plan to continue forward with their climate change commitments even if the US drops. However, considering the US is the largest emitter of CO2, it still is rather disastrous that the US dropping out of COP21 is a real possibility.
Hi Sydney,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your insightful blog post. I too am very bothered by the lack of environmental oversight that is being communicated by our current administration. What strikes me most is the United State's power and influence in the world. If we are moving away from a long term agenda that recognizes and addresses climate change and its environmental impact, other countries around the world will see that. The United States continues to be a leader in global politics and if we fail to acknowledge the negative impact of climate change and harmful emissions of fossil fuels caused by human practices such as coal mining, other nations around the world may also follow our path. This reminds me of many of the readings that we have covered in class that address the interconnectedness of government and politics with the environment and with disasters. Each administration has different priorities and if these priorities continue to change, a lack of balance will exist over time. We must make it clear that climate change is a brewing disaster
Although Trump and his administration's position on climate change is disturbing it is not at all surprising. The majority of those who voted for Trump are people who benefit and rely on jobs like coal mining to make a living. Trump has this mission to "make America great Again" and to "bring back jobs" even if it is at the expense of our environment. This was evident with the Dakota access pipeline. Trump found it necessary to provide jobs for those in that area at the expense of destroying historical and sacred Native American tribal grounds. Trump nor his administration seem to care about public opinion and will stop at nothing to continue his efforts even if that means pulling out of and destroying measures worked on by past presidents'.
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