Trumps damages climate, reactions

This video from the USA says about itself:

Some Men Just Want To Watch The World Burn

1 June 2017

Trump has officially announced the US will be backing out of the Paris climate deal. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian, hosts of The Young Turks, discuss.

“During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly threatened that he would exit the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord, an international treaty signed by 195 countries pledging to fight climate change, were he to win the election. Unfortunately for all of us living on this increasingly warm planet, it seems, in this case, he’s decided to stick to his word.

On Thursday, the White House confirmed that Trump had decided to pull out of the Paris climate deal. Minutes before Trump made the announcement, as a Marine jazz band played in the White House rose garden, a White House memo was sent out explaining his decision. “The Paris Accord is a BAD deal for Americans, and the President’s action today is keeping his campaign promise to put American workers first,” it read. The withdrawal comes only days after the president met with global leaders at the G7 summit in Sicily, where he notably refused to sign a pledge promising to significantly reduce carbon emissions, made vague threats toward America’s NATO allies, and provoked German chancellor Angela Merkel to remark over the weekend that “the era in which we could rely completely on others is gone, at least partially.””

Read more here.

From BirdLife:

1 June 2017

Trump pulls US out of Paris Agreement – BirdLife’s reaction

Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement – an international treaty adopted by nearly 200 countries to limit the impacts of one of the biggest threats to people and nature of our time – climate change. BirdLife International, along with Audubon (BirdLife in the US), has issued a statement reacting to this shocking news

By Alex Dale

BirdLife International is deeply disappointed by US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Not only is this decision naïve and isolationist, it is wholly immoral.

The Paris Agreement is critical for the future of our planet. It provides a strong framework for taking ambitious action to mitigate climate change, and to help people and ecosystems across the globe adapt to its impacts.

The Paris Agreement, adopted by almost 200 countries, is too robust to be broken by any one nation. Country after country – both developed and developing – have reaffirmed their commitment to implement the Agreement. Trump’s withdrawal from the Agreement will not stop global action on climate change.

Birds are powerful messengers showing us how our climate is changing”, says Patricia Zurita, CEO, BirdLife International. “A quarter of species studied in detail already show negative responses to recent climate change and 2,300 bird species worldwide are highly vulnerable to further change.”

“Scrapping the Paris climate agreement is an abdication of American leadership in the fight against the biggest threat facing people and birds,” says David Yarnold, President & CEO, Audubon (BirdLife’s Partner in the US).

“Our kids and grandkids are the losers in this misguided decision. So are 314 species of birds that Audubon already knows are at risk because of climate change. We don’t believe that’s what Americans voted for in November.”

While the US abdicates their leadership, other countries are stepping forward. BirdLife congratulates the EU and China on their commitment to forge a new alliance and provide global leadership on climate change.

BirdLife International will continue to work tirelessly with our 122 national Partners across the globe to deliver climate solutions for nature and people…with or without Trump.

For more information about the impacts of climate change, and the solutions that the BirdLife Partnership is pioneering, please read our global synthesis report, The Messengers.

THE PARIS AGREEMENT – quick facts

• Agreement adopted in 2015 in Paris
• Ratified by 147 Parties to date
• Entered into force on 4 November 2016 (record time and much before expected)

• The adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 was a major success in multilateralism. One hundred and ninety-five governments committed: to hold average global temperature “well below 2°C” and pursue efforts to hold it within 1.5°C above preindustrial levels; to increase the ability to adapt to climate change and deliver climate-resilient, low-carbon development; and to make finance flows sufficient to achieve these objectives.

• For the first time in history we have a global climate change agreement that recognises the critical role of forests, oceans and other ecosystems in combatting climate change and helping communities to adapt. The Agreement also stresses the need to ensure the integrity of ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity when taking action to address climate change. This is critical for safeguarding ecosystems and ensuring that climate change actions are truly sustainable.

• Cities, regions and businesses have all made commitments to address climate change and have endorsed the Agreement.

Trump administration announces US withdrawal from Paris climate agreement. The move, which repudiates even the most modest targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, takes place amidst growing conflicts between the major powers and a raging political crisis within the US. By Daniel de Vries, 2 June 2017: here.

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