Once again our beleaguered president has opened his mouth and stuck his foot in it.
According to Trump:
- “We’re going to be paying billions and billions and billions of dollars,”
False. As the New York Times reported Thursday, the U.S. has promised to supply up to $3 billion in aid for developing nations by 2020 to help them meet their emissions-cutting goals. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC’s fund is set up such that industrialized nations contribute more to efforts aimed at reducing carbon emissions in developing countries because such nations spew more pollutants into the atmosphere on a per capita basis than their poorer counterparts. Essentially, we’re paying up because we pollute more. Trump railed against how “many [countries] will never pay one dime,” but many countries will never poison the planet as much as we have, either. The UNFCCC has designated that the developed countries will contribute $100 billion into the fund by 2020.
- “We’re getting out, but we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair.”
False. The Paris Agreement on global warming is “irreversible and non-negotiable”, the European Union has said in a blunt warning.
- “China will be allowed to build hundreds of additional coal plants. So, we can’t build the plants, but they can, according to this agreement. India will be allowed to double its coal production by 2020.”
False. The agreement is nonbinding and each nation sets its own targets. There is nothing in the agreement that stops the United States from building coal plants or gives the permission to China or India to build coal plants. In fact, market forces, primarily reduced costs for natural gas, have forced the closure of coal plants. China announced this year that it would cancel plans to build more than 100 coal-fired plants.
Side bar: Coal mining in the U.S. employed 98,905 in 2015, down from 127,745 in 2008. The loss of jobs can be attributed to several factors. Automation, cheap natural gas and the reduction of coal-fueled electrical generating plants.
Even Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy, the largest privately owned coal mining company in the U.S., warned Trump that he can’t expect to bring back mining jobs.
- “The green fund would likely obligate the United States to commit potentially tens of billions of dollars of which the United States has already handed over $1 billion. Nobody else is even close. Most of them haven’t even paid anything — including funds raided out of America’s budget for the war against terrorism. That’s where they came.”
False. It is incorrect that other countries have not contributed to the Green Climate Fund. In fact, 43 governments have pledged money to the fund, including nine developing countries. The countries have pledged to pay $10.13 billion collectively, and the U.S. share is $3 billion. As of May 2017, the United States has contributed $1 billion of the $3 billion it pledged.
Friday on NBC’s Today, Matt Lauer interviewed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross who said, “(Trump) is an environmentalist. I’ve known him for a very long time. He’s very pro-environment,” at which point Lauer almost fell off his chair. Don’t be deceived by the tag-line on this link, Ross didn’t call out Lauer, instead, he threw out something about China being able to continue to pollute up to 2030. Lauer let that one get by him. The fact here is that China pledged to “peak” greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. What’s implied here is that China will increase emissions in absolute terms during that time. In fact, China basically promised to follow its already expected development track, where emissions are expected to level off between 2025 and 2030.
But China said it would reduce emissions per unit of economic output 60 to 65 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
My sources for this article are:
- The New York Times
- The Washington Post
- USA Today
- The Independent
- Politico
Mining employment statistics courtesy of:
- Mine Safety and Health Administration