President-elect Donald Trump and the Paris Agreement

The agreement was adopted last year in France by 97 countries who combined- emit 69% of the world’s total green house gases. But Donald Trump’s election has now threatened the COP 22 conference. 

The US is a major part of the Paris Agreement as one of the world’s two largest CO2 emitters. 

In August, 2015, US President Barack Obama announced a bold plan called “Clean Power” to CO2 emission s 32% by 2030. 

At the G20 summit in the Chinese province of Hangzhou last September the US announced its approval of the Paris Agreement. This surprising move has encouraged other countries to ratify the agreement.

But President-elect Donald Trump strongly opposes any US CO2 gas emission reduction. In his campaign, Trump threatened to halt any US taxpayer funding for UN global warming programs.

Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement will likely hurt the US credibility. US prestige versus China will also be undermined because both countries made strong commitments to reducing emission. 

Under domestic and international pressures, Mr. Trump is unlikely to immediately abandon the Paris Agreement but will use non-binding nature of the agreement to reduce the US contribution. 

President Barack Obama's administration has only made US$500 million available so far, and Trump may withhold the rest. 

This will negatively affect future decisions of other countries that have large gas emission but are hesitant to ratify the agreement like Russia, India, and Brazil.

During a visit to New Zealand just before setting off to Marrakesh for new climate talks between 200 nations, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the Obama administration will do everything it can to implement a global agreement to combat climate change before Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

Kerry declined to speculate on what Trump might do about the Paris Agreement and noted that there is sometimes a difference between campaigning and governing.