SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Delegates from 30 countries met in Montreal this weekend to discuss implementation of the Paris climate accord without the U.S., following President Donald Trump's June announcement that he'll withdraw the country from the agreement. (Photo: @MinisterSilk/Twitter)
As World Moves Forward with Paris Accord, U.S. Observes From Sidelines
Some officials left a climate summit in Montreal this weekend with the impression that Trump could re-enter the Paris agreement—but critics have doubts
Sep 17, 2017
Amid reports that the U.S. is reviewing the terms of the Paris climate agreement and examining a potential re-entry, climate advocates expressed doubts this weekend about changes in President Donald Trump's climate policy and about the White House's insistence that it will renegotiate the hard-won climate accord in any meaningful way.
Some news outlets reported Saturday that a summit in Montreal, attended by representatives from 30 countries that signed the accord--with a U.S. delegation observing from the sidelines--left officials with the impression that Trump could reconsider his decision to withdraw from the agreement.
MIguel Arias Canete, the European Union's commissioner for climate action, said that the U.S. "stated that they will not renegotiate the Paris accord, but they will try to review the terms on which they could be engaged under this agreement."
Ben Schreiber, senior political strategist for Friends of the Earth, stressed that any reports of real change in Trump's climate agenda are false alarms.
"This latest fire drill on the Paris agreement proves only one thing: Donald Trump can't be trusted," said Schreiber in a statement. "Even if Trump does decide to stay in the Paris Agreement, it will not be a victory for the planet because Trump's actions have made it clear that he has no intention of doing our fair share on climate change."
The White House said on Saturday that its policy has always been that it would leave the climate accord unless its terms can be renegotiated to Trump's satisfaction. But after a years-long process of hammering out a deal to which 175 parties countries have signed on, other world leaders have rejected this possibility.
"The Paris agreement should not be renegotiated," said Xie Zhenhua, the climate representative for China at the meeting in Montreal, which was called so countries could discuss how to move forward without the U.S. Though China is one of the world's biggest carbon polluters, it has emerged as a leader in renewable energy in recent years and has been steadfast in its commitment to the Paris accord.
Since taking office, even before the withdrawal, Trump has given climate advocates and the Paris accord signatories little reason to hope that his re-negotiation of the agreement would satisfy its goal of keeping the global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
He has rolled back numerous Obama-era regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, including the Clean Power Plan, which would have replaced coal-fired power plants with wind and solar farms.
"Meaningful action by the U.S. would mean rapidly reducing emissions and providing significant climate finance," said Schreiber. "Trump has taken us in the opposite direction...Donald Trump continues to hold the entire world hostage on climate change."
On social media, Trump critics cast the White House's hope of changing the hard-won agreement to suit Trump's terms as out-of-touch and arrogant.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Amid reports that the U.S. is reviewing the terms of the Paris climate agreement and examining a potential re-entry, climate advocates expressed doubts this weekend about changes in President Donald Trump's climate policy and about the White House's insistence that it will renegotiate the hard-won climate accord in any meaningful way.
Some news outlets reported Saturday that a summit in Montreal, attended by representatives from 30 countries that signed the accord--with a U.S. delegation observing from the sidelines--left officials with the impression that Trump could reconsider his decision to withdraw from the agreement.
MIguel Arias Canete, the European Union's commissioner for climate action, said that the U.S. "stated that they will not renegotiate the Paris accord, but they will try to review the terms on which they could be engaged under this agreement."
Ben Schreiber, senior political strategist for Friends of the Earth, stressed that any reports of real change in Trump's climate agenda are false alarms.
"This latest fire drill on the Paris agreement proves only one thing: Donald Trump can't be trusted," said Schreiber in a statement. "Even if Trump does decide to stay in the Paris Agreement, it will not be a victory for the planet because Trump's actions have made it clear that he has no intention of doing our fair share on climate change."
The White House said on Saturday that its policy has always been that it would leave the climate accord unless its terms can be renegotiated to Trump's satisfaction. But after a years-long process of hammering out a deal to which 175 parties countries have signed on, other world leaders have rejected this possibility.
"The Paris agreement should not be renegotiated," said Xie Zhenhua, the climate representative for China at the meeting in Montreal, which was called so countries could discuss how to move forward without the U.S. Though China is one of the world's biggest carbon polluters, it has emerged as a leader in renewable energy in recent years and has been steadfast in its commitment to the Paris accord.
Since taking office, even before the withdrawal, Trump has given climate advocates and the Paris accord signatories little reason to hope that his re-negotiation of the agreement would satisfy its goal of keeping the global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
He has rolled back numerous Obama-era regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, including the Clean Power Plan, which would have replaced coal-fired power plants with wind and solar farms.
"Meaningful action by the U.S. would mean rapidly reducing emissions and providing significant climate finance," said Schreiber. "Trump has taken us in the opposite direction...Donald Trump continues to hold the entire world hostage on climate change."
On social media, Trump critics cast the White House's hope of changing the hard-won agreement to suit Trump's terms as out-of-touch and arrogant.
Amid reports that the U.S. is reviewing the terms of the Paris climate agreement and examining a potential re-entry, climate advocates expressed doubts this weekend about changes in President Donald Trump's climate policy and about the White House's insistence that it will renegotiate the hard-won climate accord in any meaningful way.
Some news outlets reported Saturday that a summit in Montreal, attended by representatives from 30 countries that signed the accord--with a U.S. delegation observing from the sidelines--left officials with the impression that Trump could reconsider his decision to withdraw from the agreement.
MIguel Arias Canete, the European Union's commissioner for climate action, said that the U.S. "stated that they will not renegotiate the Paris accord, but they will try to review the terms on which they could be engaged under this agreement."
Ben Schreiber, senior political strategist for Friends of the Earth, stressed that any reports of real change in Trump's climate agenda are false alarms.
"This latest fire drill on the Paris agreement proves only one thing: Donald Trump can't be trusted," said Schreiber in a statement. "Even if Trump does decide to stay in the Paris Agreement, it will not be a victory for the planet because Trump's actions have made it clear that he has no intention of doing our fair share on climate change."
The White House said on Saturday that its policy has always been that it would leave the climate accord unless its terms can be renegotiated to Trump's satisfaction. But after a years-long process of hammering out a deal to which 175 parties countries have signed on, other world leaders have rejected this possibility.
"The Paris agreement should not be renegotiated," said Xie Zhenhua, the climate representative for China at the meeting in Montreal, which was called so countries could discuss how to move forward without the U.S. Though China is one of the world's biggest carbon polluters, it has emerged as a leader in renewable energy in recent years and has been steadfast in its commitment to the Paris accord.
Since taking office, even before the withdrawal, Trump has given climate advocates and the Paris accord signatories little reason to hope that his re-negotiation of the agreement would satisfy its goal of keeping the global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
He has rolled back numerous Obama-era regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, including the Clean Power Plan, which would have replaced coal-fired power plants with wind and solar farms.
"Meaningful action by the U.S. would mean rapidly reducing emissions and providing significant climate finance," said Schreiber. "Trump has taken us in the opposite direction...Donald Trump continues to hold the entire world hostage on climate change."
On social media, Trump critics cast the White House's hope of changing the hard-won agreement to suit Trump's terms as out-of-touch and arrogant.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.