"We're getting out," announced President Donald Trump on Thursday, as he explained why the United States was withdrawing from the Paris climate accord. Signatories to the 2015 landmark agreement pledged to flight climate change by reducing greenhouse gases and help poorer countries do the same.
But Trump said the U.S. pullout "represents a reassertion of American sovereignty." He added, during a Thursday speech in the Rose Garden, that the United States would begin negotiations either to re-enter the Paris accord or to have a new agreement "on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers."
The United States now joins Syria and Nicaragua as the world's only countries who are not participating in the accord.
Opponents of the deal argue that the Paris agreement would create an undue economic burden on the United States - with little effect on climate change. Supporters point to not just the environmental improvements possible, but also the potential impact of climate change on regional stability and security.
What is the impact on global stability of the U.S. decision? The Cipher Brief reached out to its Network experts for their takes on President Trump’s announcement.
Admiral James 'Sandy' Winnefeld
Former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Withdrawing from the Paris accords is shortsighted from a security, business, and, perhaps above all, a leadership perspective. Like dropping the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it pushes our nation further down the slippery trajectory of becoming "just another country" focused on transactional positions, rather than setting the example for the rest of the world. Such a decision is a product of doing the easy wrong things rather than the difficult right things, for which we Americans are known. Here, the environment is an apt metaphor for our leadership position in the family of nations: the costs will not be immediate, but they will accrue rapidly over time, and will be hard to reverse.
Admiral Jonathan Greenert
Former Chief of Naval Operations
I do not see any impact on the military. It was his campaign promise.
Michael Morell
Former Acting and Deputy Director, CIA
The single worst decision – by an order of magnitude – that President Trump has made. The decision will leave the climate worse off (itself a threat to our nation); it will undermine our national security, largely by undercutting U.S. leadership in the world; and it will weaken our competitiveness in what is a critically important emerging industry, renewable energy.
General Michael Hayden
Former Director, CIA and NSA
There are aspects of the Paris agreement about which there are honest disputes and President Obama can be criticized for signing onto such an important agreement without seeking real support from the American Congress. But the word of a country should mean something. The commitment of a country should mean something.
I was struck that Secretary James Mattis said before Congress that he supported the nuclear agreement with Iran, despite its flaws, because the word of America has to matter.
Now, I am struck that the Secretary of State opposed abandoning the Paris accords, as did the Secretary of the Treasury, according to press accounts. Yet, we publicly joined Syria and Nicaragua to walk away from the Paris Agreement.
So much for the so-called "adults in the room" – as the President’s leadership team has been described – shaping American policy. It makes you wonder why some of the "adults" are still hanging around.
This, combined with the President's refusal to personally endorse Article 5 of the NATO treaty, means we may be seeing the twilight of American global leadership and certainly the twilight of American exceptionalism.
When I went into a room to meet with a foreign counterpart, I knew that I had the backing of my president and the common understanding that I represented a nation that embraced its responsibilities. I don't think that I would have either of those tools today. I do not envy [CIA Director] Mike Pompeo and [Director of National Intelligence] Dan Coates operating under these circumstances.
