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Paris climate deal: EU and China rebuff Trump

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carbon20 View Drop Down
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    Posted: May 31 2017 at 3:02pm

Paris climate deal: EU and China rebuff Trump

By Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent
Wind turbineImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Chinese and EU leaders are to agree a joint statement on the Paris climate agreement saying it is "an imperative more important than ever".

A draft of the document, seen by the BBC, stresses the "highest political commitment" to implement the deal.

It will be widely seen as a rebuff to the US, as President Trump deliberates on withdrawal from the accord.

The joint statement will be published on Friday after a summit in Brussels.

For more than a year, Chinese and EU officials have been working behind the scenes to agree a joint statement on climate change and clean energy.

The document highlights the dangers posed by rising temperatures, "as a national security issue and multiplying factor of social and political fragility," while pointing out that the transition to clean energy creates jobs and economic growth.

"The EU and China consider the Paris agreement as an historic achievement further accelerating the irreversible global low greenhouse gas emission and climate resilient development," the draft document says.

"The Paris Agreement is proof that with shared political will and mutual trust, multilateralism can succeed in building fair and effective solutions to the most critical global problems of our time. The EU and China underline their highest political commitment to the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement in all its aspects."

Both sides say they will step up action to and "forge ahead with further policies and measures" to implement their national plans on cutting carbon. Significantly, both the EU and China agree that they will outline their long term low carbon strategies by 2020.

CaneteImage copyrightEUImage captionEU climate commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete greets his Chinese counterpart at recent climate talks in Marrakech

The document outlines other areas of co-operation including on the development and linking of carbon markets. There will also be bilateral work on energy labelling, energy performance standards and the performance standards of buildings.

"The EU and China are joining forces to forge ahead on the implementation of the Paris agreement and accelerate the global transition to clean energy," said EU climate commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete.

"No one should be left behind, but the EU and China have decided to move forward."

Why does Trump want to leave climate deal?

grey line

What was agreed in Paris?

Climate change, or global warming, refers to the damaging effect of gases, or emissions, released from industry and agriculture on the atmosphere.

The Paris accord is meant to limit the global rise in temperature attributed to emissions.

Countries agreed to:

  • Keep global temperatures "well below" the level of 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times and "endeavour to limit" them even more, to 1.5C
  • Limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the same levels that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally, beginning at some point between 2050 and 2100
  • Review each country's contribution to cutting emissions every five years so they scale up to the challenge
  • Enable rich countries to help poorer nations by providing "climate finance" to adapt to climate change and switch to renewable energy

To date, 147 out of the 197 countries have ratified the accord, including the US, where the accord entered into force last November.

Exxon shareholders back 'historic' vote on climate

Antarctic ice crack takes major turn

grey line

The increased co-operation between the EU and China comes as reports indicate a further cooling in the US towards the Paris accord.

Several sources, quoted by US media, suggest that President Trump is set to pull out. The President himself tweeted enigmatically that he would announce his decision over the next few days.

This comes after the President failed to find common ground with other global leaders at G7 summit in Taormina, Sicily. In the wake of that meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel vented her frustration with the US position.

"The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying," she told reporters.

"There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not."


Media captionCalifornia to 'work with China' on climate

The new move by the EU and China was warmly welcomed by environmental campaigners, rattled by the prospect of the world's second largest emitter of carbon pulling out of the globally supported agreement.

"If US-China climate cooperation gave birth to the Paris Agreement, now it is up to EU and China to defend and enhance it," said Li Shuo, from Greenpeace.

"The pair has the potential to become the new driver for international climate diplomacy."

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 31 2017 at 6:33pm
I do not like this world order kum by yah crap the U.S. is usually the only one to give up everything while the rest of the world screws the environment. We are always the bad guys but when a country needs to be saved they call on us to save them.

I hope Trump says NO!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 12:21pm
The Paris climate agreement was deeply flawed from its start. It was legally and constitutionally suspect, based on politics rather than science, and contained unrealistic goals. It promised not only a dramatic expansion of the administrative state and a huge increase in the regulatory burden on American businesses, it threatened to put the brakes on U.S. economic output at a time when most economists think the U.S. will struggle to achieve even a meager two percent growth.

It’s likely that it was already acting as a drag on the U.S. economy. After President Barack Obama unofficially committed the U.S. to the Paris agreement, businesses began preparing for its impact. Knowing that it would diminish U.S. economic output, businesses invested less and directed more investment toward less-productive technology to meet the climate deal’s mandates. Banks and financiers withdrew capital from sectors expected to suffer under the climate deal and pushed it toward those expected to benefit. A classic example of regulation-driven malinvestment.
The Paris climate agreement was adopted on December 12, 2015 at the conclusion of the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference. Parties to the agreement are expected to begin taking measures to reduce emissions in 2020, mainly by enacting rules that sharply reduce carbon emissions. Countries are supposed to publicly announce “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions” to combat climate change and periodically report on their progress.  The Obama administration announced the U.S. would commit to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, a quarter of which was supposedly achievable by the implementation of the previous administration’s legally-questionable Clean Power Plan.
To get the rest of the way, the U.S. would have to make major investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and cleaner motor vehicles. This likely explains why the Paris climate deal was so popular with many in Silicon Valley and many on Wall Street. It promised a bonanza of spending and investment, most likely subsidized by taxpayers, in technologies that wouldn’t otherwise be attractive. It was practically calling out for making self-driving, solar powered cars mandatory.
Dropping out of the agreement will let the U.S. avoid several deleterious effects of the agreement.
Goodbye to ‘American Last.’ The Paris agreement was basically an attempt to halt climate change on the honor system. Its only legal requirements were for signatories to announce goals and report progress, with no international enforcement mechanism. As a result, it was likely that the United States and wealthy European nations would have adopted and implemented severe climate change rules while many of the world’s governments would avoid doing anything that would slow their own economies. The agreement basically made the U.S. economy and Europe’s strongest economies sacrificial lambs to the cause of climate change.
Industrial Carnage. The regulations necessary to implement the Paris agreement would have cost the U.S. industrial sector 1.1 million jobs, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. These job losses would center in cement, iron and steel, and petroleum refining. Industrial output would decline sharply.
Hollowing Out Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The industrial carnage would have been concentrated on four states, according to the Chamber of Commerce study. Michigan’s GDP would shrink by 0.8 percent and employment would contract by 74,000 jobs. Missouri’s GDP would shrink by 1 percent. Ohio’s GDP would contract 1.2 percent. Pennsylvania’s GDP would decline by 1.8 percent and the state would lose 140,000 jobs.
Smashing Small Businesses, Helping Big Business. Big businesses in America strongly backed the Paris climate deal. In fact, the backers of the climate deal reads like a “who’s who” of big American businesses: Apple, General Electric, Intel, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, General Mills, Walmart, DuPont, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson. These business giants can more easily cope with costly regulations than their smaller competitors and many would, in fact, find business opportunities from the changes required. But smaller businesses and traditional start-ups would likely be hurt by the increased costs of compliance and rising energy costs.
Making America Poorer Again.  A Heritage Foundation study found that the Paris agreement would have increased the electricity costs of an American family of four by between 13 percent and 20 percent annually. It forecast a loss of income of $20,000 by 2035. In other words, American families would be paying more while making less. 
Much Poorer. The overall effect of the agreement would have been to reduce U.S. GDP by over $2.5 trillion and eliminate 400,000 jobs by 2035, according to Heritage’s study. This would exacerbate problems with government funding and deficits, make Social Security solvency more challenging, and increase reliance on government’s spending to support households.
The Paris deal was, in short, a disaster for America and a nothing-burger for climate.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 12:47pm
Yes, we are out of the Paris Deal...it was bad for America good for all other countries! Thank you President Trump for Making America Great Again!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 12:48pm
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-01/watch-live-president-trump-unveils-his-decision-paris-climate-accord



The outcome of Angela Merkels meeting yesterday with president Modi of India http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/narendra-modi-in-germany-live-pm-to-meet-chancellor-angela-merkel-german-president-1705033 and the EU-Chine top http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0601/c90000-9222626.html is putting the door wide open for China's New Silk Road policy. 

https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/390260-transatlantic-divorce-angela-merkel/ With Eur-Asia moving away from fossil fuels (and the US-petro$) renewable energy, electric cars etc. durable production will become the standard norm. 

Of course US companies are welcome to export to the rest of the world as long as they follow enviromentul rules. Fossil fuels are getting to expensive to compete with the renewables. 

DJ; What surprises me is that EU-China talks even involved military cooperation. It would be fully incorrect to put all the blame for what might become a break between the US and EU on Trump. European disagreement with the US go back much further. 

From the Middle East/Israel to energy-pricing in US $, from the US NSA listening in on Merkels private phoneline to insults on not enough EU spending on US weapons, the refugee-influx from the Middle East, wars and conflicts around the globe to putting sanctions on Iran, China, Russia, North Korea etc, etc, etc. 

The US is loosing its leading position. The economic consequences when the dollar is loosing much of its value when energy is not backing that value depends on how fast US companies and other US organizations adept to the new situation. 

Climate change is getting out of control. Very much action is needed very fast-when Trump is not getting that it is his problem, the world will not wait.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 12:59pm
Then let the rest of the world take care of China and India who did not have to stop coal production and not pay their share to the "Green Fund". Wake up the world would love for the U.S. to die.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 1:01pm
I would rather have Trump renegotiate the Paris Deal since Obama gave our country away in this Deal. If the rest of the world wants us to participate then renegotiate world.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 1:19pm
Everyone wants our money and our military protection but wants our country to economically fail. Go figure!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 1:34pm
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-01/elon-musk-says-he-departing-trumps-presidential-councils


Trump is letting American workers down with his support for the coal and oil-industry in stead of moving into new developments. 

When I look at measurements on climate change things look awfull. In my opinion the good news is that most countries that matter are speeding up things-the US industry will follow those changes. 

Trump can belief the Earth is flat-even as a US President-but that does not make the world flat. (It makes Trump look unrealistic). 

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 1:42pm
Trump is destroying the US credibility in the world community of nations.  We are the second largest producer of greenhouse gases (China is Number One), and he is setting us up for retaliation in trade deals.  

Like all such deals, Paris was far from perfect, but it was an excellent first step.  

Climate change is undeniable - the torrential rains we see across the US and globe are one of the first signs, and these will only get worse.  Sea level rise accelerates, and ocean acidification may be the final nail in the coffin.  

I've studied climate change mitigation since the early 1980s, and the disbelief in climate science by the Right amazes me.  Get ready for a rough ride, America will not be the country we knew when Trump finishes with it.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 2:06pm
https://citizensclimatelobby.org/trumps-pullout-from-paris-climate-agreement-is-biggest-failure-of-leadership/

Despite the Trump administration’s antipathy to address climate change, there are encouraging signs that Republicans and Democrats can come together in Congress to enact climate solutions. The bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus has more than doubled in size since the start of the year and now has 40 members with equal numbers from both sides of the aisle.

“As we’ve seen with the formation and growth Climate Solutions Caucus, there are many Republicans who want to solve the climate problem, and we hope more of them will join that endeavor,” said Reynolds.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 2:34pm
It really shouldn't come as a surprise that Trump did this, because he was adamant on the campaign trail that he thought climate change was a hoax perpetuated by China. And after a slew of monumental fails, he had to check off something of substance on his to-do list.

I was just reading about the Marshall Islanders struggling with their ancestral burial sites being washed away by rising sea levels. Maybe Trump can succeed where King Canute failed and help them out.

It is gratifying to see at least 50 US Mayors declaring their support for the Paris Accord. History won't judge us kindly for this level of short-sightedness.

Ocean acidification - you're preaching to the choir here, Chuck. And heaven forbid we push our oceans into widespread anoxic events as a result of our missteps.


"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep"
"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 3:09pm
he might say he going to  "PULLOUT" but saying and doing is another thing,

Banning people from other countries didnt go to well,

and that only affects the USA,

when it comes to a "global problem"now thats a compleatly different story,

How anyone can not believe that we are causing his Global catastrophy is beyond me ,

2000 years ago the population of this planet was, 2 billion people,

not a car on the road , not a plane in the sky, all boats were powered by the wind

that remained the population till 1850 then the "industrial revolution"

in 170 years we have put 6 billion people on this planet along with cars,boats ,planes

all using CARBON /FOSSIL FUELS that has been STORED FOR millions of years

BUT MOST IGNORANT PEOPLE DONT EVEN KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM

OR HOW IT FORMED..... 

THEY PROBABLY DONT KNOW WHERE THE AIR WE BREATHE COMES FROM......





Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 3:09pm
STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!!  Science does not make it up.  It can't.  That is what the scientific method is all about.  It can make mistakes, but, sooner or later, it finds those.  Climate change is not an hypothesis or even a theory.  It is a proven fact.  The vast majority of scientists agree on that - a few abstain and a tiny percentage, 0.0 something, deny it - usually on the pay of the oil and coal industries.  Acts of superstition, disbelief and illogic are the products of religion, insanity and idiocy, not science.  

Luckily for America, climate change will affect low lying countries first.  But, it will come to affect America as well.  When it does, some of the rest of us will say: "Us first - just like you did US."  

Contrary to popular belief, most of the rest of the world owes America very little.  I am sorry to tell you all this, but America has a reputation for only getting involved when it benefits them; for instance: (WW2 after Pearl harbour) , applying sliding gradients in their financial favor (already) and  abandoning those who helped it when they are no longer of any use (Pro-American Vietnamese).

Americans have every right to put America first, of course they do. - However, remember so does everyone else!  Up until now most of us have avoided protectionism for both pragmatic and humanitarian reasons. But, when your friend (your best friend in many cases this time) hangs you out to dry, you do not forget it in a hurry.  In fact the resentment often far outweighs that which grows from the unsurprisingly selfish acts of strangers - it hurts more from your friends because it involves a betrayal. 

I have children.  This decision will affect them, within a few short years, and not for the better.  Right now I am disgusted, but not surprised (the USA already has a nasty reputation for not valuing human life).  Later, after the destructive fun escalates, I will probably get rather angry.  I am just one person, and as such fairly powerless.  But, my shopping basket will no longer contain American products* and my vote will not be cast for those who remain politically pally with our relatives across the pond.  I am quite certain I am not alone in this.



*I will really miss Hershey's peanut butter cups, but I am dieting anyway.
How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Satori Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 4:05pm
Trump fiddles
the world BURNS

a FAILED Presidency
and only 5 months in !
quite an accomplishment I would sayLOL

now the US can sit at the kiddie table along with Syria and Nicaragua on this issue
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 4:38pm
Hey Technophobe,well said, try "whitickers"New Zealand chocolate,until chump is gone.....
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2017 at 9:47pm
Trumps decision to pull out of the Paris-climate agreement has a.o. the following effects:

-It puts news on climate change on top of the list again (in stead of "migration"/refugeecrisis, terrorism, wars etc-although they are all related). 

-It in fact ends the "uni-polar" world with the US as the only "superpower". China is very active around the globe. Russia, the EU can play a more important role. 

-Oil/gascompanies will become even more "energy-companies", there is no future for fossil fuels.

-The linkage between energy and the US $ will become even a bigger burden for the US than it already was. (Being friends with Saudi Arabia because of the petro-dollar was bad for the US). 

-"Fossil-fuel states", OPEC etc. will get less influence.

-For the US there is a major domestic problem with leadership. The two main political parties came up with candidates for the presidency that simply were not good enough. (Bernie Sanders did win indirectly). 

Climatechange is very awfully real. Action has been long overdue and the process of "wild weather" will kill billions of people the coming years. With some luck maybe humans-as a species-can survive. 

It is better that Trump makes clear he is not accepting the Paris-agreement then when he claimes he does but action speaks otherwise. Trump may stay the US president the coming years but may find himself totally isolated of events he can not control any longer. He is on his way to become a "lame duck" after 5 months in office.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DeepThinker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 02 2017 at 1:07am
This isn't Trumps fault.    This thing was supposed to be a treaty but Obama unilaterally signed it.   This is what happens when something happens by decree of the President, the next one can undo it just as easily.

The real truth of the matter is that Congress would have never ratified it.   It is THEIR fault.    However unfortunately Trump gets the blame(again).
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Satori Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 02 2017 at 1:11am
Trump could have provided REAL LEADERSHIP on this issue

he FAILED

we need a Churchill

we got a BOZO the Clown instead
“The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.” Gary Kasparov
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 02 2017 at 6:26am
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/05/trump-dumps-pretension-of-altruism-from-us-foreign-policy.html#

From now on the U.S. will only engage in selective, temporary friendships: "Where our interests align", and only there, will the U.S. be friendly because it obviously serves U.S. interests. Wherever a country deviates from that, even partially, it will "encounter the firmest resolve." That is as clear a threat as it can be.

The threat was there before but it was applied silently. When the then German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle voted against the war on Libya at the UN Security Council, the Obama administration launched a local media campaign against him (through U.S. stooges), that devastated his party in the following election. Most people in Germany did not recognize the campaign for what it was. It was hidden behind "human rights" talk, "democracy" fluff and "winning" in Libya. But the U.S. induced campaign against Westerwelle happened, was successful and was a lesson to other local party leaders to stay in line with U.S. demands.

The more honest Trump approach brings such threats out into the open. It is now clear that the U.S. follows only its interests - exclusively, and that it will apply the utmost pressure on whatever party disagrees with it in this or that case.

Such behavior may work well in relations with the dimwit dictators of Saudi Arabia or Qatar. But voters in democracies do not like it when their politicians cave over the demands of a Donald Trump, or any other such egoist. They will demand accountability. Local politician talk about "doing our share in the global community" will no longer pamper over sycophantic behavior towards unjust U.S. requests to further its interests. Voters will insist on opposition to unjust demands and will be willing to bear the consequences.

Trump is likely to find that this openly brutal foreign policy approach, without the warm and fluffy, pseudo-altruistic marketing of an Obama administration, will not work very well. He can hardly invade Spain should it decline to put pressure on Venezuela. No country will sign on to new sanctions against Iran should such a demand come with open threats. Self-determination and justice are too strong motivators to be overcome with pure boorishness.

The McMaster/Cohn op-ed ends with this:

America First signals the restoration of American leadership and our government’s traditional role overseas—to use the diplomatic, economic and military resources of the U.S. to enhance American security, promote American prosperity, and extend American influence around the world.

That is a lonesome approach and it is unlike to enhance, promote and extend anything but disdain for the U.S. But it may well be the line it will follow over the coming years.

If this is the end of the U.S. empire that evolved from World War II it is at least an honest one.

On climate change https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7TL_BbAd-s

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 02 2017 at 2:25pm
they have Always looked after their own intrests.......

Fair enough.................


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 02 2017 at 5:11pm
How can this be a good deal when it allows China and India to increase CO2 while we have already reduced our CO2 to 1992 levels and still going down.

You guys just see what you want to see. All the world wanted was our money no one else wants to pay up just the U.S.   Let us renegotiate a deal that is real not false where it does not let China and India out of decreasing CO2 and we pay less money.

Are you people just stupid or just want to keep paying the world to hate us! It is bad enough our own people hate us and do not see what a bad deal this was!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 02 2017 at 7:50pm
Originally posted by FluMom FluMom wrote:



Are you people just stupid or just want to keep paying the world to hate us! It is bad enough our own people hate us and do not see what a bad deal this was!

No, the Paris accord was an excellent opportunity for US businesses and entrepreneurs!   We Yanks invent most of the best kit in the world for environmental applications and energy, and the world has always beat a path to our door for technology.  

However, Trump just opened the door wide for China & Europe to storm on in and capture market share.  

I've worked with French, German and British companies, and they are glad that we cut our own throats since they can take over.  Siemens, Suez, Vivendi etc.  will kick our butts, thanks to Trump.  


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 02 2017 at 11:41pm
If you compare what an Indian and what a westerner like us here in Australia use in greenhouse gases ,we have to go a long way in cutting our green house gases,i have travelled on the sub continent,and believe me even the poorest person in the west is a hundred times better off ,24hour power is a luxury in most countries ,most cooking is done using bottles of gas well past there used by date,so if the west dosnt want to be swamped by people looking for a country with 24 hour power and running water, we need to help them develop there own countries, and we need to cut back, or we erect huge walls and be prepared to shoot them at the borders....its that easy
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 03 2017 at 3:29am
From my perspective, it's not a case of being stupid or paying the world to hate us. Despite all the attempts by the fossil fuel industry to hold us back, we were finally doing something - anything - on a global level. I honestly believe that the consequences of doing nothing at this point are too dire to contemplate.

Flumom, I know you're not an advocate of man-made climate change and I respect your views, but I simply don't believe the White House's claims about why we just walked away from the Paris agreement. Even though the administration is stonewalling all the questions about Trump's views on the subject, it's unlikely that he's changed the stance he took on the campaign trail that climate change is a hoax perpetuated by China to hurt American businesses. To make matters worse, the way in which the withdrawal was handled and the rhetoric used now make it all but impossible for any world leader to sit down at the negotiating table with the current administration and maintain their credibility at home. And let's be honest - any renegotiation of the Paris Accord to Trump's liking clearly wouldn't be with a view to making it more far reaching when he believes it's all built on a false premise.
 
We pulled out because of Trump's outdated beliefs, and that puts him at odds with most of the world. We need to get on board and help developing countries to transition into affordable renewable energy instead of clinging on to this ridiculous notion that we can bring back fossil fuels like coal. We can't be a leader in a world on the brink when our President refuses to acknowledge the problem, either from ignorance or greed. Whichever it is, the appointment of Scott Pruitt to head the EPA speaks volumes about his commitment to the environment.

If you follow the money, it's also clear that the people within his own party that lobbied to leave are heavily backed by the fossil fuel industry.

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/republicans-urged-trump-exit-paris-funded-fossil-fuel-companies/








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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Satori Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 03 2017 at 5:25am
"
"No, the Paris accord was an excellent opportunity for US businesses and entrepreneurs!   We Yanks invent most of the best kit in the world for environmental applications and energy, and the world has always beat a path to our door for technology.  "

well said
Trump abdicated a position of leadership
now other countries will jump in and fill the void
this will cost us jobs and technology
the US continues to fall behind in just about all metrics
we have the most expensive health care but NOT the best
our public schools are a disaster
and our infrastructure ?
LMAO !!!

our "high speed trains" do well to travel at 50mph
the Chinese at 150mph

we are like the kid who peaked in high school
he was captain of the football team
dated the head cheerleader
but two years post high school
he is stocking shelves in Walmart for minimum wage
Trump has shown NO leadership on this issue or much else for that matter
he's all sizzle and NO steak
but hey
Make AmURIkA Great Again sure makes for  a good bumper sticker don't it
too bad that is all it is
Trump has already proven in just a few short months that he simply doesn't have what it takes

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 08 2017 at 8:35am
Originally posted by FluMom FluMom wrote:

How can this be a good deal when it allows China and India to increase CO2 while we have already reduced our CO2 to 1992 levels and still going down.

You guys just see what you want to see. All the world wanted was our money no one else wants to pay up just the U.S.   Let us renegotiate a deal that is real not false where it does not let China and India out of decreasing CO2 and we pay less money.

Are you people just stupid or just want to keep paying the world to hate us! It is bad enough our own people hate us and do not see what a bad deal this was!

Yes that is the deal - at face value.

However, India currently produces 1/10th the amount of per capita CO2 than the USA.  To allow them to increase whilst limiting America's output would actually make things fairer.  The difference between The USA and China is smaller, and I only have out-of-date information but at last count it was less than half.  Source: World bank at  http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC

................................. That is how it is a good deal.  The fact that we all want to go on living counts too.  Not paying your fair share is a very fast track to be hated even more.  Now who is stupid?  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 08 2017 at 3:17pm
well said Technophobe,

but just like Universal health care for your own population,

SOME people are very very SELFISH ,and only think of themselves.........

and there's me thinking America was a 

CHRISTIAN COUNTRY.......


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 08 2017 at 3:19pm
Image result for use of fossil fuels in the world graph
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 08 2017 at 3:22pm
greedy ....................or what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 08 2017 at 4:31pm
Incidentally: (if you read on you may not sleep tonight - you have been warned!) 

"The United States, after eight years of George W. Bush and eight more under Barack Obama, is now sitting at $20 trillion in debt, an amount that is more than 104 percent of our country’s annual gross domestic product. That means if we dedicated every single penny to paying that debt off — which of course is impossible — it would still take more than a year to do."*

Yes, that was trillion!

To make matters worse: 
  

"Russia is buying up more of America's debt.

In March, the country bought $13.5 billion of US government bonds -- better known as "Treasury securities." Russia's total holdings of US debt have now increased to nearly $100 billion, according to recently released Treasury Department data.

It's the third straight month of buying from Russia."**


"But as bad as our debt has gotten, we certainly are not alone — nor is our debt-to-GDP ratio the worst in the developed world. Japan, the world’s third-biggest economy, has a debt-to-GDP ratio of a staggering 250 percent, a figure that has grown steadily since 2007, when it was 183 percent." *

The entire world has been robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Now, with the exception of a very few colossally rich individuals, all the world is broke.  It's not America's money that everyone wants, it's their own they want back - and that because their neighbors and friends are clamoring for their cut.




There is a good reason we (other countries) are gentle in asking for money back, and it is not because we are kind, nice or humanitarian.  We simply live in fear of a cascade of bankruptcies

"The bottom line is, there is much debt in the world today, it’s getting larger, and the lion’s share by far is held by the world’s “richest” countries. Given the interconnectivity of commerce between nations due to globalism, which is the intertwining of production distributed among many markets in many regions, just one debt collapse by a single major economy could snowball, crashing the entire world financial order." *(first source)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 08 2017 at 5:04pm
It gets worse (and weirder) - the total global debt is said to be well over $200 trillion, or 325% of the world's GDP.

So, it begs the question...





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 08 2017 at 6:24pm
AAAH!, JD................  'Though I know the official answer is, "Planet Zog!"  I believe the actual answer is, very strangely: "Each other."  http://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-debt-united-states/
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