President Trump just announced that he will withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement

"Putting America first" or  "Making America great again..."  

President Trump just announced that he will withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. His action shows a profound failure of global leadership and a total inability to recognize a good deal for America—for clean air in our communities, clean energy jobs, and a livable planet for our children. But no matter what Trump does, Americans are all in on the clean energy transition. American states, cities and forward leaning businesses are leading the way.

Far from putting America first, Trump’s executive order withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is a short-sighted sop to the fossil fuel lobby. It willfully ignores the climate crisis and will jeopardize thousands of clean energy jobs in the U.S.

The landmark Paris Climate Agreement is the backbone of international cooperation on climate action. The U.S.’s pledge was not only achievable, but also would have helped staved off the most catastrophic impacts of climate change—droughts, floods, wildfires and famine—and given Americans cleaner air and, in many cases, cheaper electricity.

Trump bent to the will of fossil fuel apologists and 22 Senators who have received more than $10 million from the oil, gas and coal industries in the last five years. But most people across the country want clean energy and action on climate change. States, companies and communities nationwide are doubling down on renewable energy, with job growth and cleaner air as immediate benefits.

Earthjustice will continue to work with states across the country and our international partners to make meaningful progress toward 100 percent renewable energy for everyone.

With or without the U.S., the rest of the world will implement the Paris Agreement. It includes nearly every country on the planet and has unprecedented support—from vulnerable communities facing the most immediate effects of climate change to forward-looking American businesses who know that clean energy is the investment opportunity of the century.

And we will keep fighting. Earthjustice is working in statehouses and at public utility commissions throughout the U.S. to advance clean energy policies and challenge decisions that would lock us into decades of fossil fuel dependence. In court, we are defending rules that limit climate pollution. And we are supporting international partners in South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia and Kenya who are pushing a shift from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Make your voice heard.

-Erika Rosenthal, Staff Attorney for Earthjustice.