### Author:  [@JBGUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBGUSA)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/1 "2017-06-01T03:24:31Z")
By way of background, I am a far-left Democrat who voted for Hillary. Nevertheless I oppose the Paris Climate Accords. See the note I posted on the White House website “e-mail” system:
===========================================================================
I am writing to support the Trump Administration’s inclination to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords (“Climate Accords”). I am by no means a conservative. I think that the Climate Accords have very little to do with climate and a lot to do with an incoherent hash of politically correct but impractical agendas. I will turn to the terms of the Climate Accords themselves but I note that they have a lengthy codicil on “gender equality.” While that may be a praiseworthy goal it has little to do with climate.
The Climate Accords work by setting an unreachable U.S. goal of 40% reduction of greenhouse gases (“GHG”) from 1990 levels. The year 1990 as a base year is itself grossly unfair to the U.S. but I digress. The failure to reach an unmeetable target will trigger an obligation to pay a large amount into a “climate adjustment fund” (the “Fund”). The Fund itself will offer full-time employment to a large contingent of bureaucrats. That to my mind is why Europe so strongly favors the Climate Accords. Such money as is distributed by the Fund for “climate adjustment” will go to Third and Fourth World “leaders” with little or no accountability for how it is spent. Can one, for example, seriously imagine leaders such as Assad, Kabila, or Mugabe using the money to protect their people from climate change.
This note purposely does not address whether or not climate change is real, or if real, if it is man-made. The Climate Accords will do little to change a single temperature on a single day in a single place. But they will cost the U.S. and its citizens lots of money, and possibly significant growth and employment. I urge you to ignore the bleats of the elites and withdraw the U.S. from the Climate Accords. And in the process make the withdrawal effective immediately, disregarding the unconstitutional and non-binding four year period placed on withdrawal. The Climate Accords were not ratified by Congress, are not a treaty and are not legislation.
---
### Author:  [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/2 "2017-06-01T03:42:38Z")
I think this is what is going to happen.
---
### Author:  [@JBGUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBGUSA)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/3 "2017-06-01T03:53:58Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#):
>
> I think this is what is going to happen.
What is, withdrawal? Your lips to G-d’s ears.
---
### Author:  [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/4 "2017-06-01T04:25:07Z")
> [@JBGUSA](#):
>
> This note purposely does not address whether or not climate change is real, or if real, if it is man-made. The Climate Accords will do little to change a single temperature on a single day in a single place. But they will cost the U.S. and its citizens lots of money, and possibly significant growth and employment. I urge you to ignore the bleats of the elites and withdraw the U.S. from the Climate Accords. And in the process make the withdrawal effective immediately, disregarding the unconstitutional and non-binding four year period placed on withdrawal. The Climate Accords were not ratified by Congress, are not a treaty and are not legislation.
And just there I have doubts about how to the left you are.
That point of costing jobs is one of the most silly arguments made against dealing with the problem
> **[The economic impacts of carbon pricing](https://skepticalscience.com/co2-limits-economy.htm)**
>
> \Economic assessments of proposed policy to put a price on carbon emissions are in widespread agreement that the net economic impact will be minor. The costs over the next several decades center around $100 per average family, or about 75 cents per...
> [@](#):
>
> In the long term, unless we drastically reduce the rate at which we are still emitting greenhouse gases, we are very likely to incur huge costs as a result of climate change. Part of these costs will be in adaptation, and the inevitable disruption. In part costs will escalate due to turmoil and uncertainty throughout the economic world. There will also be costs that cannot be quantified, particularly when we try to value a human life and its loss.
>
> We have to reduce our emissions. If we are to avoid draconian government intervention, carbon pricing schemes are a viable method of encouraging us to reduce fossil fuel use. Coupled with other measures to stimulate renewable energy development, putting a price on carbon may help us make the transition away from fossil fuels. And from our experience to date, it seems likely that carbon taxes, instead of bringing an economy to its knees, may well help transform an outdated system into one fitting for a sustainable century.
There are more reasons why the USA should not leave the treaty.
> **[Why the Paris Agreement Is Good for the United States](https://www.nrdc.org/bio/han-chen/why-paris-agreement-good-united-states)**
>
> The Case for Tackling Climate Change: Why America, and the World, Need the Paris AgreementEnsuring that the Paris Agreement on climate change is implemented and that countries meet their commitments is in the national interest of all countries around...
> [@](#):
>
> The Paris Agreement includes an “enhanced transparency framework” that uses a common set of rules for both developed and developing countries (see here). These systems strengthen the international system by: (a) requiring that countries regularly report national emissions inventories at least every two years; (b) requiring that at least every two years countries report “information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving” its emissions reduction target; (c) subjecting these national reports to a “technical expert review” by a set of independent reviewers; and (d) conducting a public session where countries consider the progress countries are making towards their targets.
>
> A powerful domestic motivation for countries to follow through on their new commitments as a part of the Paris agreement is built on the nature of these commitments—these targets are based upon delivering actions that are in their own self-interest. Politicians in these countries will need to follow through on their commitments as their citizens are demanding the actions necessary to meet the Paris Agreement since those measures meet pressing domestic needs such as air pollution, job creation, poverty alleviation, and reduced climate impacts. For example, China will continue to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as part of its strategic plan to reduce air pollution and coal consumption. And India will continue to move forward with its massive renewable energy deployment to address energy poverty, and because renewable energy is the most cost-effective option.
>
> We can’t ensure progress is being made towards commitments of major countries if the U.S. is sitting on the sidelines and not showing leadership.
---
### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/5 "2017-06-01T04:28:37Z")
> [@JBGUSA](#):
>
> By way of background, I am a far-left Democrat who voted for Hillary. Nevertheless I oppose the Paris Climate Accords. See the note I posted on the White House website “e-mail” system:
OK, just so I understand, which of these options do you prefer:
[ul]
[li]Option 1: The stability of the world’s climate, food crops, sea levels, ocean chemistry and biodiversity of the entire planet should be left to go to hell, or[/li][/ul]
[ul]
[li]Option 2: Everyone must pitch in to prevent the above from happening, with the sole exception of the one large nation represented by the last three letters of your username, which should be entitled to do nothing.[/li][/ul]
Supplemental question: Have you read _ **and understood** _ the latest IPCC WG2 report on climate change [impacts, adaptation, and vulnerabilities](http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/)?
---
### Author:  [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/6 "2017-06-01T13:07:16Z")
If the USA withdraws from taking action on Climate Change, I hope that other nations start to transition from trading with the USA and focus only on trading with nations that are taking at least some action. There has to be a cost to doing nothing in order to get some people to do something.
---
### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/7 "2017-06-01T14:11:38Z")
> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> OK, just so I understand, which of these options do you prefer:
>
> [ul]
> [li]Option 1: The stability of the world’s climate, food crops, sea levels, ocean chemistry and biodiversity of the entire planet should be left to go to hell, or[/li][/ul]
>
> [ul]
> [li]Option 2: Everyone must pitch in to prevent the above from happening, with the sole exception of the one large nation represented by the last three letters of your username, which should be entitled to do nothing.[/li][/ul]
Are those the only two options? If so, I pick 2.
Of course, I would suggest a third option - pay no attention to false dilemmas.
Regards,
Shodan
---
### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/8 "2017-06-01T14:13:54Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#):
>
> If the USA withdraws from taking action on Climate Change, I hope that other nations start to transition from trading with the USA and focus only on trading with nations that are taking at least some action
You mean nations like China?
Regards,
Shodan
---
### Author:  [@Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inbred_Mm_domesticus)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/9 "2017-06-01T15:01:04Z")
America is a great nation full of ignorant savages. We don’t trust science even though it provides us with a fantastically extravagant lifestyle even among the poorest of the poor. We don’t trust government even though it helps each American maintain a fantastically extravagant lifestyle at the expense of billions of people around the world. We don’t trust foreigners even though they are the lifeblood of innovation that provides us with an extravagant lifestyle unknown to most of history and most of the rest of the world.
In the face of this monstrously savage ignorance, maybe international agreements on climate change are not the best means by which to reduce America’s carbon emissions. Maybe there is a way to do it that is tailored to America’s savagery. After all, we’ve reduced emissions in recent years (yes, mainly due to natural gas), and renewable sources of energy have taken off. Maybe even individual states can drive the change and leave the more savage parts of America in the industrial age where they belong, rusting away.
I’m not tied to this position but the OP did make me think.
---
### Author:  [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/10 "2017-06-01T15:03:04Z")
> [@JBGUSA](#):
>
> By way of background, I am a far-left Democrat who voted for Hillary.
> [@Shoulld the UK Exit the European Union? Should English-Speaking Countries Unite?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoulld-the-uk-exit-the-european-union-should-english-speaking-countries-unite/747070/4):
>
> FYI I support Cruz (Rubio close second choice).
These things don’t seem to go together.
---
### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/11 "2017-06-01T15:05:55Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#):
>
> These things don’t seem to go together.
Someone should write to the White House and correct **JBGUSA** ’s “error.”
---
### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/12 "2017-06-01T15:09:10Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#):
>
> These things don’t seem to go together.
Thanks for posting the 2nd quote, **Lance**. The OP’s posts in that thread are worth reading, IMO, if you are thinking about posting in this thread.
---
### Author:  [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/13 "2017-06-01T15:34:41Z")
The Paris Accords won’t mediate climate change, they weren’t even designed to mediate climate change … even the proponents who understand the accords say as written it does very little …
It’s just the framework on how we deal with global warming moving forward … and as it stands no one anywhere in the world is committed to the goals set out …
Which is okay … looks like [Germany will miss their targets by a long ways](http://www.dw.com/en/german-co2-emissions-targets-at-risk/a-18862708) … [India isn’t even trying](https://phys.org/news/2017-04-india-coal-conflict-climate-commitments.html) …
> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> [snip]… Option 1: The stability of the world’s climate, food crops, sea levels, ocean chemistry and biodiversity of the entire planet should be left to go to hell … [snap]
I’d like to see your math these claims are based on … how are you defining the Hysteria Tensor? …
> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> [snip] … Option 2: Everyone must pitch in to prevent the above from happening, with the sole exception of the one large nation represented by the last three letters of your username, which should be entitled to do nothing … [snap]
What does the Republic of South Africa have to do with this? … because if you mean the United States, you’d be mistaken … solar panels are going up everywhere … Oklahoma is getting covered in wind turbines … places like Oregon are outlawing the generation and wholesale purchase of coal-fired electricity (and not permitting gas-fired power plants) … “business as usual” doesn’t mean a freeze on technology, it mean advancing technology at the same rate … we are fixing this problem, only hysteria blinds us to our progress …
> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> [snip] … Supplemental question: Have you read _ **and understood** _ the latest IPCC WG2 report on climate change [impacts, adaptation, and vulnerabilities](http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/)?
Have _you_ read and understood this link … I quit counting after 200 MB download … can you try and focus on the specific parts you’re advancing, and can you PLEASE keep the citations shorter than The Bible …
[sigh] …
The Paris Accords are all about political fluff … withdrawing from the Accords is again all about political fluff … if we want to cut CO[sub]2[/sub] emissions, we have to cut back on energy usage, there’s no other way unless you believe in magic …
The fella they had on the PBS Newshours last night said an incredibly stupid thing … “Our children will suffer from dangerous climate change” … horseshit, that old guy’s children are going to be dead and buried, his _grand_children are going to be dead and buried by 2100 … let’s get a grip on the time spans we’re talking about, climate changes occur over time intervals _longer_ than a human life span … sure, we notice a 5ºC difference day-to-day, and we notice this year-to-year … but decade-to-decade, I don’t think so … the hysteria claims century-to-century? … hogwash …
---
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/14 "2017-06-01T15:43:50Z")
> [@JBGUSA](#):
>
> By way of background, I am a far-left Democrat who voted for Hillary.
That’s funny-[In _this_ post you were a staunch member of the Republic Party that wanted his party to do something about Trump.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19172634&postcount=1) :rolleyes:
---
### Author:  [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/15 "2017-06-01T15:49:24Z")
Well, in [this other open letter](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=817789) he has been a registered democrat since 1975.
What is it with this guy and open letters?
---
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/16 "2017-06-01T16:10:24Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#):
>
> Well, in [this other open letter](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=817789) he has been a registered democrat since 1975.
>
> What is it with this guy and open letters?
[In this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=779715&highlight=Cruz), this “far left Democrat” likes Ted Cruz.
---
### Author:  [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/17 "2017-06-01T16:41:27Z")
> [@Shodan](#):
>
> You mean nations like China?
>
> Regards,
> Shodan
Sure why not? China is a major polluter, but they’ve taken a lot of steps to reduce emissions and continue to commit themselves to further reductions.
---
### Author:  [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/18 "2017-06-01T17:06:00Z")
I thought the far left voted for Bernie in the primaries … and then just didn’t vote at all during the general … I voted for Hillary because she was the closest to the center of all the candidates … or perhaps better to say the choice with _the least_ uncertainty …
---
### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/19 "2017-06-01T18:38:03Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#):
>
> . looks like [Germany will miss their targets by a long ways](http://www.dw.com/en/german-co2-emissions-targets-at-risk/a-18862708) … [India isn’t even trying](https://phys.org/news/2017-04-india-coal-conflict-climate-commitments.html) …
Do you think the US pulling out of the Paris Accord will make it more likely that Germany and India would meet the targets? Or less likely?
---
### Author:  [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815/20 "2017-06-01T18:42:45Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#):
>
> The Paris Accords won’t mediate climate change, they weren’t even designed to mediate climate change … even the proponents who understand the accords say as written it does very little …
>
> It’s just the framework on how we deal with global warming moving forward … and as it stands no one anywhere in the world is committed to the goals set out …
>
> Which is okay … looks like [Germany will miss their targets by a long ways](http://www.dw.com/en/german-co2-emissions-targets-at-risk/a-18862708) …
That is not that the article says. Seems that once again you are looking at what the contrarian sources are pointing out and they also do not bother to check what the article really says.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-note-to-president-trump-on-the-climate-accords-5-31-2017/787815.md?page=2)