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How leaving the Paris Climate Agreement would affect the US
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Pelle Svanslös
Jun 1, 2017, 4:50:02 PM6/1/17
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According to John Sterman, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of
Management and senior advisor at ClimateInteractive, leaving the Paris
Agreement would create an uncertainty in the economy over the future of
both fossil fuels and renewable energy resources. That would be "bad for
businesses" and others hoping to invest in renewable energy, and could
spread to other countries' economies as well. It would also lead to
slower renewable energy deployments, Sterman says.
The costs of these energy sources are going down, but if the Paris
Agreement is cut, uncertainty will cause solar and wind to be deployed
more slowly, keeping their costs higher longer and ultimately slowing
the ongoing American transition to renewable energy.
Another repercussion of leaving the Paris Agreement, Sterman says, is
potential retaliation from other countries, which could either leave the
Paris Agreement as well, or punish the US in some way for leaving the
agreement.
For example, Sterman says, "It's not that far-fetched to imagine a
scenario where China, in response to the US pulling out...implement[s] a
carbon tax on all goods exported from the US to China, and others
nations could follow suit."
The prospect of this situation has led a number of fossil fuel
companies, including Exxon Mobil and coal miner group Cloud Peak, to
reportedly urge the President to stay in the agreement. According to
Sterman, coal, gas, and oil companies know that while they may be
restricted slightly by the Paris Agreement, they will lose their seat at
the international negotiating table — next to China, India, the EU, and
other world powers — if the US pulls out.
In an April 6th letter addressed to Trump, Cloud Peak CEO Colin Marshall
explained:
"By remaining in the Paris Agreement, albeit with a much different
pledge on emissions, you can help shape a more rational international
approach to climate policy...Without US leadership, the failed
international policies that have characterized the past 25 years will
continue to predominate...Addressing climate concerns need not be a
choice between prosperity or environment."
There could also be consequences for American jobs.
Trump has made jobs a central point in his campaign promises, but
according to Sterman, "I f we cede leadership to China... that’s going
to cost jobs in the United States." A number of jobs producing wind
turbines and solar panels have already been lost to China, but if the US
pulls out, we'll lose more.
Sterman argues the US will lose jobs that can only be done locally, like
installing, operating and maintaining solar panels and wind turbines.
These kinds of jobs go mostly to blue collar workers — who are, as
Sterman noted, "the base of President Trump's support."
http://www.businessinsider.com/paris-climate-agreement-trump-decision-2017-5?r=US&IR=T&IR=T
Management and senior advisor at ClimateInteractive, leaving the Paris
Agreement would create an uncertainty in the economy over the future of
both fossil fuels and renewable energy resources. That would be "bad for
businesses" and others hoping to invest in renewable energy, and could
spread to other countries' economies as well. It would also lead to
slower renewable energy deployments, Sterman says.
The costs of these energy sources are going down, but if the Paris
Agreement is cut, uncertainty will cause solar and wind to be deployed
more slowly, keeping their costs higher longer and ultimately slowing
the ongoing American transition to renewable energy.
Another repercussion of leaving the Paris Agreement, Sterman says, is
potential retaliation from other countries, which could either leave the
Paris Agreement as well, or punish the US in some way for leaving the
agreement.
For example, Sterman says, "It's not that far-fetched to imagine a
scenario where China, in response to the US pulling out...implement[s] a
carbon tax on all goods exported from the US to China, and others
nations could follow suit."
The prospect of this situation has led a number of fossil fuel
companies, including Exxon Mobil and coal miner group Cloud Peak, to
reportedly urge the President to stay in the agreement. According to
Sterman, coal, gas, and oil companies know that while they may be
restricted slightly by the Paris Agreement, they will lose their seat at
the international negotiating table — next to China, India, the EU, and
other world powers — if the US pulls out.
In an April 6th letter addressed to Trump, Cloud Peak CEO Colin Marshall
explained:
"By remaining in the Paris Agreement, albeit with a much different
pledge on emissions, you can help shape a more rational international
approach to climate policy...Without US leadership, the failed
international policies that have characterized the past 25 years will
continue to predominate...Addressing climate concerns need not be a
choice between prosperity or environment."
There could also be consequences for American jobs.
Trump has made jobs a central point in his campaign promises, but
according to Sterman, "I f we cede leadership to China... that’s going
to cost jobs in the United States." A number of jobs producing wind
turbines and solar panels have already been lost to China, but if the US
pulls out, we'll lose more.
Sterman argues the US will lose jobs that can only be done locally, like
installing, operating and maintaining solar panels and wind turbines.
These kinds of jobs go mostly to blue collar workers — who are, as
Sterman noted, "the base of President Trump's support."
http://www.businessinsider.com/paris-climate-agreement-trump-decision-2017-5?r=US&IR=T&IR=T
The Iceberg
Jun 1, 2017, 5:13:20 PM6/1/17
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