Abundant
fossil fuels
give Trump
upper hand
on climate
It remains to finally be determined whether or not President Trump will follow through on a promise to withdraw U.S. participation from the non-binding Paris Climate “treaty” signed by his predecessor just prior to leaving office last September. Either way, that decision will have major impacts upon the future of Trump’s economic agenda and America’s competitive global trade position with China and other nations.
It’s beginning to look like the President is going to stand by his pledge despite contrary pressures from his daughter Ivanka, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Ivanka’s high-level policy advisor husband Jared Kushner.
Trump has announced plans to offer a public decision
statement by mid-May.
Trump has announced plans to offer a public decision
statement by mid-May.
Speaking at an April 29 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, rally
on the occasion of his 100th day in office, the President
described the Paris deal as another one-sided international
agreement “where the United States pays billions of dollars
while China, Russia, and India have contributed and will
contribute nothing.” He added, “On top of that, it’s
estimated that full compliance with the agreement
could ultimately shrink America’s GDP by $2.5 trillion
over a 10-year period. That means factories and plants
closing all over our country. Here we go again. Not with
me, folks.”
on the occasion of his 100th day in office, the President
described the Paris deal as another one-sided international
agreement “where the United States pays billions of dollars
while China, Russia, and India have contributed and will
contribute nothing.” He added, “On top of that, it’s
estimated that full compliance with the agreement
could ultimately shrink America’s GDP by $2.5 trillion
over a 10-year period. That means factories and plants
closing all over our country. Here we go again. Not with
me, folks.”
That Obama pledge committed the U.S. to a 26% to 28%
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, compared
to a 2005 baseline.
Worse, it contains an escalator clause requiring even more stringent cuts every five years without time limit or provisions for Senate advice and consent.
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, compared
to a 2005 baseline.
Worse, it contains an escalator clause requiring even more stringent cuts every five years without time limit or provisions for Senate advice and consent.
In addition, the Obama State Department quietly transferred $1 billion in taxpayer money to the UN’s Green Climate Fund without congressional authorization.
Much of the planning and momentum for the Paris deal got traction during the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit where China and India successfully rejected any treaty that would cap their CO2 emissions. Obama’s representative, Ted Stern, advocated a familiar solution that originated with the Kyoto protocol . . . namely to get China to agree by exempting them, along with more than 100
other developing countries, from obligations to be borne
by Western nations.
other developing countries, from obligations to be borne
by Western nations.
Believing that not even an unlikely election of a Republican
president in 2016 would be able to overcome international pressures from cooperating countries, Stern’s Paris strategy was also once again to bypass the
pesky need for Senate approval. That confidence crashed
“bigly” upon the even more unlikely arrival of
Donald J. Trump. His first day in office ended the
Obama EPA’s war on coal, aka, “Clean Power Plan.”
president in 2016 would be able to overcome international pressures from cooperating countries, Stern’s Paris strategy was also once again to bypass the
pesky need for Senate approval. That confidence crashed
“bigly” upon the even more unlikely arrival of
Donald J. Trump. His first day in office ended the
Obama EPA’s war on coal, aka, “Clean Power Plan.”
As Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) observes in a Washington
Times article, “The agreement rests on little more than
a president’s handshake.” He points out that “In fact,
there was enough bipartisan opposition to the pact that
Mr. Obama bypassed sending it to the Senate for
ratification as a treaty.”
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) observes in a Washington
Times article, “The agreement rests on little more than
a president’s handshake.” He points out that “In fact,
there was enough bipartisan opposition to the pact that
Mr. Obama bypassed sending it to the Senate for
ratification as a treaty.”
Barrasso notes that according to National Economic Research Associates Consulting, meeting all of Obama’s commitments to the Paris accord would cost the American economy $3 trillion and 6.5 million industrial sector jobs by 2040.
The pain for China to voluntarily meet their share of cuts would be even greater. Going the fabled renewable solution route, they would have to install 200 gigawatts of wind capacity and 100 gigawatts of solar. That’s more than the U.S., Germany, Britain, and Spain combined.
Any notions that investments in renewable energy will meet China’s growing industrial and consumer demands are illusory. Despite having the world’s largest wind turbine and solar panel programs and massive hydropower projects,
coal still produces nearly three-quarters of China’s energy.
coal still produces nearly three-quarters of China’s energy.
Until recently, China has been building a new coal-fired
plant about every 7 to 10 days. That fuel consumption
amounts to more than 4 billion tons of coal each year,
compared to less than 1 billion tons in the U.S., and
600 million tons in the European Union.
plant about every 7 to 10 days. That fuel consumption
amounts to more than 4 billion tons of coal each year,
compared to less than 1 billion tons in the U.S., and
600 million tons in the European Union.
While deplorable pollution problems are causing many
old plants lacking modern controls to be shuttered, their
current coal-powered capacity is expected to grow 50%
by 2040. Lacking the U.S. abundance of natural gas,
they have little choice.
old plants lacking modern controls to be shuttered, their
current coal-powered capacity is expected to grow 50%
by 2040. Lacking the U.S. abundance of natural gas,
they have little choice.
America, on the other hand, has enormous energy
advantages. Thanks to huge fossil resources made
accessible through advanced oil and gas field
technologies, the U.S. now tops Saudi Arabia and
Russia as the leading world energy producer.
advantages. Thanks to huge fossil resources made
accessible through advanced oil and gas field
technologies, the U.S. now tops Saudi Arabia and
Russia as the leading world energy producer.
Rupert Darwell argues in a February 22 National Review
article that major U.S. competitors who sign on to the
Paris treaty will hand President Trump “the most
favorable trade deal imaginable. Higher costs caused
by inefficient and expensive renewables will act as a
self-imposed energy tariff on China’s manufacturing
exports.”
article that major U.S. competitors who sign on to the
Paris treaty will hand President Trump “the most
favorable trade deal imaginable. Higher costs caused
by inefficient and expensive renewables will act as a
self-imposed energy tariff on China’s manufacturing
exports.”
Darwell is right. By opting out of the Paris anti-fossil
politics and supporting the American hydrocarbon
revolution, “Donald Trump won’t need to renegotiate
any trade deals with China — or anyone else.”
politics and supporting the American hydrocarbon
revolution, “Donald Trump won’t need to renegotiate
any trade deals with China — or anyone else.”
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