US Pullout from Climate Treaties Won’t Slow Transition

US Pullout from Climate Treaties Won’t Slow Transition

RITURAJ PHUKAN

The decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), along with 65 other international organizations, is unprecedented and a blow to multilateralism but this development is unlikely to throw a spanner to climate negotiations or slow the transition towards clean energy and a more equitable world order.

President Donald Trump had pulled the US out from the Paris Agreement on the first day of his second term, just like he did during his earlier presidency, but this time he has followed up with other decisions isolating the US from the global community.

Yet, the US belligerence to climate talks is not new or unexpected, as for nearly three decades its positionhas beenperceived as obstructionist, particularly during the annual UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COPs). Before the Paris Agreement, the failure of the US senate to ratify the Kyoto Protocol delayed its operationalization. Although the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in1997, it entered into force only in 2005.

The US is relinquishing its seat in the annual COPs by withdrawing from the UNFCCC, thereby losing the power to influence the progress of negotiations. Similarly ,by withdrawing from the IPCC, the US will lose its veto power on the content of the ‘Summary for policymakers’ accompanying the period reports.

Former Vice President and President of The Climate Reality Project, Al Gore, who shared the2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the IPCC” for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change,” published a statement regarding the US presidential orders.

“For decades, the world’s scientists and governments have worked together to tackle the most significant challenge of our lifetimes: the climate crisis. The ongoing work of the IPCC, UNFCCC, and other global institutions remains essential to safeguarding humanity’s future.

The Trump Administration’s decision to remove the United States from these vital organizations sends the wrong message to our allies abroad and fails to protect Americans from increasingly dangerous impacts of the climate crisis at home,” Mr. Gore said.

Pointing out the influence of the fossil fuel industry behind the series of anti-climate decisions, Mr. Gore added that “The Trump Administration has been turning its back on the climate crisis since day one, removing the United States from the Paris Agreement, dismantling America’s scientific infrastructure, curbing access to greenhouse gas emissions data, and ending essential investments in the clean energy transition.

They’ve done this at the behest of the oil industry, so that billionaires can rake in even more money while polluting our planet and endangering people in America and around the world.”

In the United States, the impacts of the climate crisis are becoming increasingly common. For instance, wildfires in California last January led to the evacuation of over 200,000 residents. Farmers are facing challenges such as pests, droughts, and flooding. In some regions, homes can no longer be insured, and extreme weather events cost the country at least $115 billion last year.

The UN climate chiefSimon Stiellsaid that US citizens and companies would bear the impact. “It is a colossal own goal which will leave the US less secure and less prosperous,” he said. “It will mean less affordable energy, food, transport and insurance for American households and businesses as renewables keep getting cheaper than fossil fuels, as climate-driven disasters hit American crops, businesses and infrastructure harder each year and as oil, coal and gas volatility drives more conflicts, regional instability and forced migration.”

The official statement from Climate Reality CEO Phyllis Cuttino was very critical of the US leadership. “The Trump Administration’s retreat from the UNFCCC upends decades of global collaboration to solve the climate crisis. This misguided decision ignores both the undeniable economic benefits of the inevitable clean energy transition and the dangers and expense of unabated climate change for American families and communities.

This is the very opposite of leadership. We need leaders who will stand up to Big Oil and instead fight for a sustainable future that ensures people and the planet can thrive.”

“What’s more, the administration is also withdrawing from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the very body that assesses climate science so that policymakers can make informed decisions. Rather than following the science, the Trump Administration continues to willfully ignore the realities, turning its back on the future and opportunities, while the rest of the world presses on without us.

Ceding global leadership is a shortsighted move that will only leave Americans increasingly exposed to dangerous climate disasters, raise costs from energy to insurance for consumers and communities, and diminish our ability to build the future we desire for our children and generations to come,” the statement added.

Mr. Gore made it clear that the US pullout will hardly impact the pace of global transition towards clean energy. “By withdrawing from the IPCC, UNFCCC, and the other vital international partnerships, the Trump Administration is undoing decades of hard-won diplomacy, attempting to undermine climate science, and sowing distrust around the world. Fortunately, 198 minus one does not equal zero.

“While the U.S. federal government sits on the sidelines, world leaders, local and state governments, and the private sector will continue to move forward with the clean energy transition and uphold the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement because it is in their best interest to do so. Clean energy remains the most affordable, scalable, and sustainable solution to meet the energy demands of the future and with this reckless decision the United States will only be left behind,” his statement explained.

Annual investment in low-carbon energy sources has exceeded $2 trillion, significantly surpassing the $1 trillion allocated to fossil fuels. In the previous year, renewable energy experienced a 15% growth, representing over 90% of all newly installed power generation capacity.

Electric vehicles now constitute approximately 20% of new automobile sales worldwide. Furthermore, low-carbon electricity accounts for more than half of the installed capacity in both China and India, and China’s monthly exports of low-carbon goods and services reached $20 billion last year.

Rituraj Phukan: Founder, Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum; Co-Founder, Smily Academy ;National Coordinator for Biodiversity, The Climate Reality Project India; Member, IUCN Wilderness Specialist Group; Commission Member – IUCN WCPA Climate Change, IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation, IUCN WCPA Indigenous People and Protected Areas Specialist Groups, IUCN WCPA South Asia Region and IUCN WCPA-SSC Invasive Alien Species Task Force; Member, International Antarctic Expedition 2013; Climate Force Arctic 2019 ; Ambassador, Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary. Rituraj Phukan is the Climate Editor, Mahabahu and Convenor, Mahabahu Climate Forum.

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