US president ditches current agreement: ‘We’re getting out, but we’ll start to negotiate and we’ll see if we can make a deal that’s fair’
- Full story: Donald Trump confirms US will quit Paris climate deal
- Analysis: US pullout is more damaging to the US than the climate
Mexico has stated its “unconditional support for the Paris accord,” saying it “will continue to meet its established goals” for reducing carbon emissions, the AP reports.
The nation’s foreign relations department said in a statement:
Efforts to slow climate change are a moral imperative, because we owe it to future generations.”
México mantiene su respaldo y compromiso con el Acuerdo de París para detener los efectos del cambio climático global.
Protests are planned in New Zealand where US secretary of state Rex Tillerson has a Wellington visit scheduled next Tuesday. Niamh O’Flynn, executive director of 350 Aotearoa, a climate change group, said:
Trump is out of step with the rest of the world, and we need to make sure he feels that when his Secretary of State lands in Wellington on Tuesday. People and governments around the world are backing the US into a corner where they the lonely outlier. [Prime minister] Bill English must denounce this move to show whose side we’re on.”
We can’t now let the USA water down the Paris Accord. Mr Tillerson must be reminded that the world can only combat climate change together and that New Zealand stands shoulder-to-shoulder with other nations which have embraced the challenge.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were not at Trump’s announcement, because, according to a White House official, the couple was attending a service at synagogue.
Ivanka had met with Al Gore last year, sparking rumors that the president’s daughter, could influence her father on climate change, women’s health and other issues. Some hoped she would encourage the White House not to abandon the Paris agreement.
After she organized five weeks of meetings focused on the Paris agreement — including her own sit-down with EPA administrator Scott Pruitt and enlisting people like Apple CEO Tim Cook to speak to the president about climate — Ivanka Trump appeared to have lost on one of the issues where she at one point expected to hold some sway.
Scenes of protests across the country this afternoon:
DNC chair @TomPerez leads chants of "shame" at climate protest outside the White House pic.twitter.com/9xr2b84AuL
#Miami climate activists turn out today to protest Trump's break from #ParisAgreement at Museum Park @jerryiannelli@MiamiNewTimespic.twitter.com/9zBVgrlXm9
Happening now: 400+ protesters gather near NYC City Hall to protest Pres. Trump abandoning Paris climate accord pic.twitter.com/OhlsuQEj0D
Protests erupt outside Trump Tower after @POTUS pulls U.S. out of #ParisAgreementhttps://t.co/RzNDLSOkGipic.twitter.com/GE7PZrq1yt
Former president Bill Clinton has offered his criticism of the president’s decision:
Walking away from Paris treaty is a mistake. Climate change is real. We owe our children more. Protecting our future also creates more jobs.
The president is a very impulsive, reactive personality. So, if we all like the Paris agreement, he may decide to get out of it, not even understanding one bit about what that means.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not the only executive to step down from Trump’s council following the Paris Agreement withdrawal. Robert Iger, CEO of Disney, has also just announced his resignation “as a matter of principle”:
As a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the #ParisAgreement withdrawal.
The White House in a new statement says Trump had “frank, substantive discussions” about the Paris agreement with the leaders of Germany, France, Canada and Britain.
The president also promised that during his administration, the US “will be the cleanest and most environmentally friendly country on Earth”, adding that the world leaders “all agreed to continue dialogue and strengthen cooperation on environmental and other issues going forward”.
"the United States under the Trump Administration, will be the cleanest and most environmentally friendly country on Earth" pic.twitter.com/khrDUaHrMA
The central message from Emmanuel Macron, in large capital letters:
The AP has released some helpful fact checks of Trump’s case for withdrawing the US from the climate agreement, noting that some of his claims are “shaky”:
For one, the White House cites a study paid for by groups that profit from fossil fuels.
Trump also claims 1m jobs have been created since the election. That’s basically right, but he earns no credit for jobs created in the months before he became president.
The Democratic governors of New York, California and Washington have announced a new US Climate Alliance, billed as a “coalition that will convene US states committed to upholding the Paris Climate Agreement and taking aggressive action on climate change”.
Proud to join @NYGovCuomo& @GovInslee in new U.S. Climate Alliance, a profoundly important endeavor #ActOnClimatehttps://t.co/zQIeDwgyY1pic.twitter.com/gEB6P2bsyz
If the President is going to be AWOL in this profoundly important human endeavor, then California and other states will step up.”
Sam Levin in San Francisco on the blog now, taking over for Tom McCarthy.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who insists he is not running for president, despite persistent rumors, has offered his criticisms of Trump’s announcement:
Withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement is bad for the environment, bad for the economy, and it puts our children’s future at risk.
For our part, we’ve committed that every new data center we build will be powered by 100% renewable energy.
Here’s Macron, speaking in English.
“I do respect this decision, but I do think it is an actual mistake both for the US and for our planet. I just said President Trump in a few words a few minutes ago this assessment.
Statement on the US' withdrawal from the Paris climate agreements. #parisagreementhttps://t.co/T4XOjWZW0Q
The Turnbull government has recommitted to Australia’s emissions targets in the Paris Agreement after Donald Trump’s withdrawal but faces internal division as conservative MPs celebrated the decision.
Energy and environment minister Josh Frydenberg said he was disappointed with Trump’s decision but reiterated the Turnbull government’s full commitment to the Paris Accord.
Angela Merkel called Donald Trump immediately after he delivered his announcement, expressing her regret during a phone call at his decision, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Twitter.
During the conversation she stressed that Germany would stick to the agreement.
New French president Emmanuel Macron isn’t going to bed until he’s had his say about Trump’s withdrawal, apparently. He was to have started speaking 10 minutes ago, we’ll report what we hear.
Je m'exprimerai en direct à 23h à propos de la décision du Président Trump de retirer les États-Unis des accords de Paris sur le climat.
Reaction from We Rate Dogs:
The We Rate Dogs account has HAD it. pic.twitter.com/o7m78pqfx4
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi:“abandoning America’s leadership”:
Pulling out of the Paris Accord defies the overwhelming support for action from credible scientists, the governments of 194 different countries and many religious groups. Faith leaders from Pope Francis to the evangelical community have urged us to act to preserve the beauty of God’s creation.
“By walking away from this pact, President Trump is abandoning America’s leadership position in the fight against the climate crisis and is sending a strong message to the rest of the world to create, design and manufacture clean energy solutions and create jobs elsewhere. If President Trump wants nations like China and India to take stronger and swifter action on climate, then he should do so through the accountability and enforcement provisions in the Paris Agreement, not by breaking our word and storming out of the room.
Trump’s withdrawal announcement came in the late evening in Russia, and official commentary was not immediately available. But Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Thursday that Russia “attaches great importance” to the Paris climate accord, and a US withdrawal could complicate the agreement’s implementation.
“Of course, the effectiveness and realisation of this convention will be hampered without key participants,” Peskov told journalists. “There is no alternative (to the accord) at this time.”
Astronaut Scott Kelly:
Withdrawing from the #ParisAgreement will be devastating to our planet. Paris and Pittsburgh share the same environment after all. pic.twitter.com/QNO5vHtmEF
Obama’s official photographer:
Pete Souza on the #ParisAgreementpic.twitter.com/iVKmQeq4Uj
Florida Representative Charlie Crist: ‘heartbroken’
I am heartbroken by this decision. Actively deciding to not protect our environment? Shameful. https://t.co/iUpezt0lsp
It looks like Trump’s plan to “renegotiate” the Paris deal may be a clown plan:
BREAKING: France, Germany, Italy issue joint statement saying Paris climate accord can't be renegotiated.
BREAKING: German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she regrets US climate move, will keep working to 'save our Earth.'
The Berliner Kurier has a hot front page for Friday:
La Une du @BERLINER_KURIER demain :
La Terre à #Trump : FUCK YOU! #AccorddeParis#climat#ParisAgreementpic.twitter.com/ZWUIYOhmSD
“I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” Trump said.
The line has ticked off a lot of Pittsburghers.
More than 56 percent of voters in Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, voted for Hillary Clinton: https://t.co/2VjOB9hf3p
As the Mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future. https://t.co/3znXGTcd8C
Fact: Hillary Clinton received 80% of the vote in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh stands with the world & will follow Paris Agreement @HillaryClintonhttps://t.co/cibJyT7MAK
Pittsburgh is one of the greenest cities in America. Miss us. https://t.co/l3SpxQUbgv
Trump lost Pittsburgh. And he won in Paris, Maine; Paris, Tenn; Paris, Ark.; Paris, Idaho; Paris, Missouri; Paris, Penn.; Paris, Texas.
Trump says he's doing this for Pittsburgh? Here's what the Post-Gazette's editorial board says about Paris: pic.twitter.com/hwvyTWKuLL
The Weather Channel responds:
Holy shit, The Weather Channel is NOT fucking around! pic.twitter.com/izow7eNAwH
Here’s the CEO of General Electric:
Disappointed with today’s decision on the Paris Agreement. Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government.
Earlier this year I held a town hall in Pittsburgh & the residents in attendance called for action on climate change. Cc: @realDonaldTrump
Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.
I support President Trump’s desire to re-enter the Paris Accord after the agreement becomes a better deal for America and business.
The United States joins Syria, Nicaragua & Russia in deciding not to participate with world's Paris Agreement. It's now up to cities to lead
If you're still talking about Pittsburgh as a gritty old steel town, just know that you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
The Rose Garden band pic.twitter.com/QMZac0TH4D
Here’s Guardian US environment reporter Oliver Milman:
A reminder that Paris took around 20 years of proceeding work, is voluntary and had nearly 200 countries on board
This is prob the US' worst self inflicted wound of modern times, it harms environmental, economic and diplomatic standing for years to come
A future president can reverse this but America’s standing in the world will take a while to recover. Those renewable jobs will go OS & emissions cuts will slow at a time when they must accelerate if we are to avoid the worst in sea level rise, heatwaves, loss of reefs etc
In terms of profound consequence Trump won't do anything as severe as this in his presidency. Let's please remember that during next scandal
The news was met with disbelief and anger in Brussels, where the EU and China are currently mid-way through a summit at the end of which they will announce their acceleration of efforts to combat climate change under the Paris agreement.
The EU’s commissioner for climate action and energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, said the vacuum left by the US’s withdrawal would now be filled be new global leaders, and he vowed that the climate accord would endure.
Will Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate change agreement tip the world into fiery catastrophe? The extraordinary unity of the rest of the world’s nations in tackling global warming, allied with the booming green economy, driven by plummeting renewable energy costs, are strong reasons to think not.
A much more likely casualty of Trump’s choice is the US economy he claims to be protecting: America’s brilliance at innovation, investment and building businesses will no longer have its government’s support. The prize of leadership in the 21st-century economy could be sacrificed in a doomed attempt to revive the fossil-fuelled economy of the 20th century.
Related: Trump's Paris pullout is more damaging to the US than the climate | Damian Carrington
Trump says withdrawing from the deal “represents a reassertion of America’s sovereignty.” Then he says it’s his “highest obligation and greatest honor” to protect the US constitution.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, who long opposed the accord, praised Trump’s decision to withdraw, calling the treaty “simply a raw deal for America”:
“Signed by President Obama without Senate ratification, it would have driven up the cost of energy, hitting middle-class and low-income Americans the hardest,” Ryan said in a statement. “In order to unleash the power of the American economy, our government must encourage production of American energy.”
Trump says the tax reform bill “is moving along in Congress” and people will be “pleasantly surprised.”
“It’s going very well,” Trump says.
At what point does America get demeaned. At what point does America get laughed at as a country.
The fact that the Paris deal hamstrings the United States while empowering some of the world’s top polluting countries should expel any doubt as to why foreign lobbyists should wish to keep our beautiful country tied up and bound down... that’s not going to happen while I’m president, I’m sorry.
– Donald Trump
Tom Steyer, the environmental activist and Democratic mega-donor, vowed retribution for Trump’s action.
“The Trump Administration has just committed assault and battery on the future of the American people,” Steyer, who serves as the president of the advocacy group NextGen Climate, said in a statement.
Trump calls the Paris deal a “self-inflicted major economic wound.” There’s no indication that’s the case, but likewise nothing stopping him from saying it.
Trump is making out the Paris deal, which hadn’t dug in in the US’ energy policy yet when he was elected, to be the source of a made-up US economic catastrophe and hemorrhaging of jobs and GDP.
The Paris accord “is very unfair at the highest level to the United States,” Trump says.
Trump says the agreement blocks the development of clean coal. “And the mines are starting to open up. We’re having a big opening,” he says.
Trump says the Paris deal would cost the US economy $3tn in lost GDP.
Then Trump says he’s backing out of the deal owing to his environmental conscience:
As someone who cares deeply about the environment, as I do, I cannot in good conscience support a deal which harms the United States, which it does.
Statement from Barack Obama on the Paris Climate Agreement pic.twitter.com/SQc6kQV0Ah
Trump says that “one-by-one” he’s keeping the promises he made in his presidential campaign.
“Believe me, we’ve just begun,” he says. “The fruits of our labor will be seen very shortly.”
Donald Trump arrives. He says he’s monitoring an attack at a casino in Manila. Then he says he made “a very very successful trip” abroad, “believe me.” He says he is creating American jobs.
Pence:
“The American people ... will see once again, our president is choosing to put American jobs and American consumers first... and choosing to put America’s forgotten men and women first.”
Pence welcomes everyone. “You know it’s the greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president to a president who is fighting every day to make America great again,” Pence says.
“And this president has been rolling back excessive regulations and unfair trade practices that were stifling American jobs,” he says.
The live stream is active. Vice president Mike Pence has come out.
Jacqueline Savitz, executive with Oceana:
President Trump’s decision regarding the Paris Agreement on climate action spells trouble for the world’s oceans -- and for humanity. The oceans have already absorbed massive amounts of heat and carbon dioxide, causing ocean waters to become more acidic. This is bad news for corals, molluscs like clams and oysters, and arthropods like lobsters and crabs. That means not only ecological devastation but a hit to our seafood economy.
Coastal communities and ecosystems around the world are threatened with seas that are rising because of the expansion of warmed waters and the melting of ancient ice caps. Disruption of ocean food chains could increase the risk of hunger for the millions of people around the world who depend on ocean fish for their food and livelihood.
Trump just confirmed his total contempt for our planet’s future. With this reckless rejection of international climate cooperation, the administration took a giant step toward turning our country into a rogue nation. Most Americans want global action against global warming, but Trump’s foreign policy seems aimed strictly at appeasing coal companies and the oil industry.”
No, Trump has not spoken yet, but the reactions are flooding in.
Senator Bernie Sanders: ‘an international disgrace’
President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement is an abdication of American leadership and an international disgrace. At this moment, when climate change is already causing devastating harm around the world, we do not have the moral right to turn our backs on efforts to preserve this planet for future generations.
Trump is betraying the country, in the service of Breitbart fake news, the shameless fossil fuel industry, and the Koch brothers’ climate denial operation. It’s sad.
Today, Donald Trump turned the fate of the planet into a reality T.V. show hosted live from the White House Rose Garden. Trump’s grand reveal surprised no one; once again, he elevated Big Oil over our environment and the well-being of humanity.
History will harshly judge the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement. By denying climate change and failing to act, Trump has put us on a path beset with increased famine, poverty, disease and death for millions of people in the U.S. and across the globe.
Withdrawing from the Paris agreement will needlessly undermine U.S. relations with our allies and undercut international efforts to address climate change. Nearly 200 other nations will move forward with this agreement regardless of our participation. By exiting the process, President Trump forfeits America’s opportunity to shape the global economic transition that is already underway
The American Civil Liberties Union calls today’s move by Trump “a massive step back for racial justice”:
Pulling out of the Paris Agreement would be a massive step back for racial justice, and an assault on communities of color across the U.S.
Here’s that live stream again. So you have it handy:
.@realdonaldtrump late to the planet's own funeral – live #actonclimatehttps://t.co/OWSCHfTtQe
Environmental groups have pointed out that the Trump administration’s executive orders setting aside Obama-era emissions caps and other environmental protections have represented an abandonment of the fight against climate change before today’s news.
Which means that should the next US president be sympathetic to the idea of re-joining the Paris accord (assuming it still exists), he/she will have more work to do than simply signing back on to this one deal.
Trump, per a source, will follow the 4-yr rule to get out of Paris, meaning the US will leave on Nov 4, 2020.
Election Day 2020: Nov 3.
WH chief of staff Reince Priebus is wearing a green tie. Oh the irony. pic.twitter.com/JEPw9gFmz9
Priebus in green. What can it mean? Only one thing. Covfefe.
Today is a win for chief strategist Steve Bannon, who with Environmental Protection Administrator Scott Pruitt urged the president to jettison the Paris deal.
While we wait... here’s more from the band:
Military jazz quartet accompanying Trump's Paris pull-out announcement at WH: "Surreal...its like the Titanic band," 1 guy here says pic.twitter.com/LFqxOi4er0
Politico has published a document it says is the White House talking points for pulling out of the Paris accord.
The document squares with other reports about it. It reads:
Via the White House on Youtube:
White House talking points obtained by The Associated Press say that the Paris accord “is a BAD deal for Americans” and that the president’s action would keep “his campaign promise to put American workers first”:
“The Accord,” the document goes on to say, “was negotiated poorly by the Obama Administration and signed out of desperation.”
“The U.S. is already leading the world in energy production and doesn’t need a bad deal that will harm American workers,” it reads.
A former Obama senior adviser says the notion that the United States was cornered into making a bad deal in Paris is wrong:
"Better deal" talk is incoherent. The U.S. sets its own Paris target.
Guardian Washington correspondent David Smith is in the Rose Garden, where “a band is playing bouncy, upbeat jazz”:
“I hear the unmistakable notes of ‘Summertime, and the livin’ is easy’ (orchestral only, no singer). Strangely apt for global warming.”
They're playing smooth jazz in the Rose Garden ahead of the president's announcement on the Paris climate accord pic.twitter.com/bPt34W1HP5
Reuters and the Washington Post are quoting from a document said to be Trump’s upcoming speech. They have this:
The scene:
Rose Garden being set up for Pres Trump's announcement withdrawing US from Paris Agreement on climate change. pic.twitter.com/51C0YQZTWl
The Associated Press now has it:
WASHINGTON (AP) — @AP sources: Trump will announce plans to withdraw from #Paris#climatechange accord
I guess we won't always have Paris. https://t.co/TkEgYtTRDG
Follow Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org (and Guardian contributor):
Somehow appropriate that oil started flowing through the Dakota pipeline today. Greed uber ales #NoDAPLhttps://t.co/1LrExNtYSo
About right.
Me: Cancel 3pm call
Him: Why?
Me: Want to see Paris Accord Finale
Him: Is Trump giving a ?
Me: He's producing & starring, playing the thorn
The Daily Beast and CNN are carrying reports that Trump has told congressional staffers on a conference call that he’s withdrawing from the Paris accord.
Here’s the Beast:
On a conference call with Capitol Hill staffers ahead of the speech, White House energy policy adviser Michael Catanzaro confirmed that “the United States is getting out of the Paris agreement.” Trump, Catanzaro said, “will be open to and will immediately be looking for a better deal.” A source provided The Daily Beast with the call-in information.
Capitol Hill source tells @acosta the White House has informed the Hill that President Trump is pulling out of the Paris agreement
World leaders, businesses, investors, scientists and development charities have joined in urging Donald Trump not to withdraw the US from the Paris climate change agreement.
The US president is due to announce his decision at 3pm ET on Thursday and is expected to pull the world’s largest economy, and second greatest polluter, from the global accord agreed unanimously by almost 200 nations in 2015.
Related: World urges Donald Trump not to dump Paris climate agreement
Note: we’ll embed live video provided by the White House in this blog when the big moment approaches. The video stream, currently inactive, is here.
Of all issues, is there any one more ill-suited to Trump’s reality TV production aesthetic, which prizes moments of grandiose revelation, than climate change? A generational issue that will be with us no matter what happens with this afternoon’s presidential curtain-drop.
Jean Chemnick of E&E News (Environment & Energy publishing) says Myron Ebell, chairman of a group“focused on dispelling the myths of global warming,” will be in the crowd with Trump at the White House today:
Myron Ebell is reportedly going to be in the Rose Garden for Trump's Paris announcement -- so we're out.
Assuming the US does, as expected, pull out of the historic Paris agreement on climate change, it will join a very small list of countries with which it has little else in common in terms of emissions.
The only other UN members not signed up are Nicaragua and Syria, which both chose not to enter into the climate accord in the first place.
Related: US would join only Syria and Nicaragua on climate accord 'no' list
Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of Donald Trump’s announcement of whether he will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord.
The president is playing up his decision for maximum
political theatrical effect, having teased it for a couple days now. The big reveal is scheduled for 3pm ET (8pm BST) in the White House rose garden.
I will be announcing my decision on Paris Accord, Thursday at 3:00 P.M. The White House Rose Garden. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
The US is not bound to any targets by the Paris accord, and is already moving away from Barack Obama’s commitment to cut emissions. It will continue to do so regardless of whether it remains part of the global deal.
There are fears that formal withdrawal could dent the soft-power impact of the agreement. But other major emitters including the European Union and China point out that the US would be as free to rejoin as it is to leave.
Related: Trump ready to withdraw US from Paris climate agreement, reports say
Related: The Republicans who urged Trump to pull out of Paris deal are big oil darlings
Related: Trump smashes things like a toddler. Will the Paris agreement be next? | Ross Barkan
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