The global climate change cabal is flipping out after the Trump administration announced that the United States is going to withdraw from and end funding to a bedrock “climate treaty” called the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Pres. Donald Trump gave as a rationale for the pullout that it no longer serves American interests.
The main thrust from critics of the move is pretty much, “How could he?” Not much there there, but that’s the reaction. I mean if all the cool climate change kids are doing it, how could the U.S. just up and leave the table?
Needless to say, the leftists who leech off of all that climate change money are not only not happy about Trump’s decision to exit the UNFCCC, but since Trump took office, they note America hasn’t met several of its UN climate treaty obligations, such as reporting emissions, and, oh yeah, funding the UNFCCC. In other words, they love us for our money, and they're going to try to guilt us into going back.
So, as of now, Trump pretty much told the globalists that if they want to tackle “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” they have to do it without America and without our tax money.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued his own statement on the president's decision, making it clear exactly why the U.S. will no longer serve as the gravy train for "climate change:"
The Trump Administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity. President Trump is clear: It is no longer acceptable to be sending these institutions the blood, sweat, and treasure of the American people, with little to nothing to show for it. The days of billions of dollars in taxpayer money flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over.
This move is considered to be unprecedented and a huge slap in the face to the climate alarmists. It’s not clear, however, why those alarmists are surprised. It’s not like Trump didn’t warn them throughout his entire political career, at least since 2016.
Reuters described the UNFCCC as a “foundational U.N. climate treaty, which the U.S. Senate unanimously adopted more than 30 years ago,” and reported that Trump’s pullout may be illegal, “according to some legal experts who say that Congress would need to approve its exit.”
This reaction from the elitists indicates that this move is one that hurts them. That’s a good sign. You may not have been familiar with the UNFCCC by name before this, but this is what you voted for.
The U.S. is also going to exit 65 other international bodies that, again, “no longer serve American interests.” This is Trump's America First policy coming home to roost. One of those other organizations that does not figure into America’s future under Trump is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This is the part of the UN that is considered the "global authority" on climate science.
Trump has maintained that the UN climate change groups and others have operated “contrary to U.S. national interests.” He feels they hamstring U.S. efforts to pursue oil, gas, and mining development. He also believes they hit Americans in the wallet with higher energy costs, increased (and expensive) regulation, and lost jobs.
In Trump’s first term, he withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. Joe Biden rejoined that agreement when he was in the White House. And now with Trump back in the Oval Office, he once again had already pulled the U.S. out of the same agreement.
In September, when speaking to the U.S. General Assembly, Trump described climate change as “the greatest con job” on the planet.
Of course, “the science” says climate change is real and that you’re the problem. Never mind that “the science” makes billions from telling you that. And never mind that the politicians behind climate change have been using it as a naked grab for power for decades. For them, climate change is the gift that keeps on giving. They get to raise taxes, add regulations, take away your freedoms, raise the cost of living on you, restrict your lifestyle, and make you more miserable. In return, they get money and power over you and everyone else.
Lest you be a "climate change denier," they'll tell you, just look out your window. That’s all climate change. Hot, cold, dry, wet, rain, snow, sun, flooding, hurricanes — all of it. That's not just the weather; that's climate change.
“The science” says climate change is real, humans are mostly the cause, and it’s getting real bad. If you don’t let them take away your gas stove, among other things, you could cause serious damage to the planet and people.
According to reports, the U.S. is the first and only country in the world to say it wants to withdraw from the UNFCCC. The treaty was adopted at the UN in May 1992. The U.S. was the first major country to ratify it. After that, every other nation on earth signed it, but some were more serious about compliance than others. Witness China’s, India’s and Russia’s track records of environmental stewardship ever since.
Article 25 of the treaty allows for withdrawal, stipulating that “any party may withdraw” by putting its intentions in writing and then notifying the “depositary,” also known as the UN secretary general.
If you’re having trouble following all of this, that’s no accident. The UN is very good at creating obtuse systems that really accomplish nothing with the exception of restricting American power and picking its pocket.
The Paris Agreement of 2015 is one of two protocols under the UNFCCC. The other protocol is the Kyoto Protocol of 1997.
The big debate now will be whether Trump has the authority to withdraw from the UNFCCC without congressional approval. No doubt the Democrats will say Trump does need to get signoff from Congress. Meanwhile, Trump is doing what Trump does – taking action and letting the left try to keep up.
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