ABC News(NEW YORK) — President Trump is in Italy for the G7 summit with uncertainty over the U.S.’s commitment to the Paris accord. During his campaign, Trump said he would “cancel” the Paris agreement but has yet to take action since entering office. Experts are anticipating that some European parties at the G7 will try to get the U.S. to affirm its commitment to the deal at the summit. Here’s what you should know ahead of the meeting.
What is the Paris Climate Agreement?
The Paris Agreement is an accord sponsored by the U.N. to help slow global climate change. The 145 parties who ratified the convention set a goal to ensure global temperatures do not increase more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It also aims to limit temperature increases by only 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
After the conference, each country set their own “Nationally Determined Contributions” (NDCs) and agreed to report their progress regularly on decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. To remain in the deal, the U.S. must cut its emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025.
Learn more about the specifics of the agreements here.
Where does the Trump administration stand on the agreement?
Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Trump said he would roll back environmental protections and regulations. He threatened to “cancel” the deal, but since taking office has said he’s studying it. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said the Paris Agreement is bad for America because it’s bad for jobs. However, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former chief executive of Exxon, said he supports staying in the deal. White House adviser Ivanka Trump set up a review process to make sure her father received information from experts in both the public and private sector before making a decision on the agreement. President Trump and Ivanka Trump have both postponed meetings with consultants about the agreement.
Are the Paris accords binding?
The U.S. can decide to withdraw from the agreement but stipulations outlined in the deal would require the U.S. to remain in the pact until November 2020. However, the Trump administration can adjust the U.S.’s Nationally Determined Contributions very simply.
“The Paris agreement was designed to be flexible so that parties could respond to changing domestic circumstances,” Andrew Light, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute told ABC News.
The agreement was signed on the U.S.’s behalf by former Secretary of State John Kerry, with his granddaughter on his lap on Earth Day April 22, 2016. President Obama signed it into law via executive action, bypassing the then Republican-controlled Senate.
What are the consequences of withdrawing?
Light said that the Trump administration could face a fallout if it withdraws from the agreement.
“It could potentially harm U.S. businesses who are trying to compete with businesses from other countries in the exploding global market in renewable energy,” Light told ABC News. He went on to explain that withdrawal could look like “Trump is turning his back on the world” by walking away from the spirit of global cooperation that the Paris agreement created.
For example, the Pope gave Trump copies of his published works on climate change as a parting gift following their meeting on May 24, 2017. Some are inferring the Pope was trying to convince Trump to support the Paris agreement.
If Trump manages to avoid taking a stance at the G7 meeting this weekend, his team will most likely try to settle the issue ahead of the G20 meeting in July.
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