Memorandum on the Paris Climate Accords

To: Donald Trump, President of the United States

From: Colman Lydon, Seceretary of State

Date: May 11th, 2018

Re: Paris Climate Accords

Introduction:

As the threat of global change continues to rise, countries around the world have been trying to find out ways in which to best combat and mitigate both climate change itself and the effects of it. One of the big global attempts have been the Paris Climate Accords. This agreement was started towards the end of 2015. Allies and other large superpowers of the world like the EU and China have signed the agreement, with a large support of other countries around the world. This brings up the fact that the United States has left the agreement, and what it means for our climate change policies.

Evidence:

One would be hard pressed to find evidence that does not support climate change. Scientific bodies like the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Chemical Society have both issued statements in support that climate change is a large problem. With the AAAS stating, “The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society" (2006), and the ACS stating, "Comprehensive scientific assessments of our current and potential future climates clearly indicate that climate change is real, largely attributable to emissions from human activities, and potentially a very serious problem." (2004)

This bring up the question on what the United States could do. For a while, it seemed like the Paris Accords would be useful in this. The United States, and many other countries, would work together in an effort to lower emissions and be more environmentally conscience.

While I agree with the President’s concerns on being weary of the deals with agree to, there seems to be some misinformation on what the Paris Accords means for America. While there is a large amount of countries planning to reduce their emissions through using less coal, the Accords do not prohibit the use of it explicitly.

These countries had opted to to reduce the amount of coal they use. The United States does not have to limit it, and can set it’s own emission standards and it’s guidelines for taking it.

Secondly it would not hurt the United States to stay in the Accords. The only body that would be able to  penalize the U.S would be the U.S itself. Therefor it is already like we are making our own deal.

Recommendations:

I strongly urge that we stay in the deal. As of right now, it is our best global effort to combat climate change. Climate change is not something that can be combated with just one country. It would take a more international approach to it. For these reasons, I believe it would be in our best interest to stay in the accords.