It’s official — on June 1, President Trump announced that “the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord,” but suggested that he would be open to new negotiations that are “fair” to the United States.
Here at the Monkey Cage, we’ve provided in-depth analysis over the years on the Paris accord, climate change, energy security and environmental developments. For a full listing of these posts, see below.
In our June 1 post, Joshua Busby at the University of Texas answers the big questions: What does this mean, and what’s next? He writes, “Under the normal rules of the agreement, the United States cannot withdraw until November 2020,” but “there is a nuclear option.”
Jessica F. Green, an New York University professor and frequent contributor on environmental policy topics, explains why the Trump decision would not roll back the considerable U.S. progress on environmental protection. She notes, “States, cities and many companies in the United States realize that sensible climate policy is, well, sensible.” With U.S. companies pursuing green options and U.S. utilities phasing out coal-powered plants, she points out that the U.S. government does not control — or make — many of these decisions.
Monkey Cage contributors have also looked closely at the Paris accord itself. Was there too much flexibility in the wording? What made the Paris accord different from other climate change negotiations? More broadly, what happens to global security if the effects of climate change force millions to migrate? And what are the nuts and bolts of energy politics, aviation emissions and U.S. energy conservation programs? We invite you to keep reading.
Donald Trump and climate change:
- Trump says goodbye to the Paris climate agreement. Here’s what that means.
- The Trump administration can’t entirely roll back progress on climate change. Here’s why.
- The Trump administration wants to kill the popular Energy Star program because it combats climate change.
- Trump has picked the most conservative EPA leader since 1981. This one will face much less resistance.
The Paris accord itself:
- Strong words make treaties more effective. So is the Paris climate accord worded too flexibly?
- Wondering what’s different about the Paris climate change negotiations? Here’s what you need to know.
- The Paris climate agreement calls for big investments in renewable energy. Here’s why governments love it.
- Here’s what political science can tell us about the Paris climate deal
Climate change and global security:
- The effects of climate change will force millions to migrate. Here’s what this means for human security.
- How climate change makes the world more violent
Other climate proposals and efforts:
- Pope Francis weighs in on climate change. How do his proposals measure up?
- The world is about to get tough on aviation emissions. Here’s what you need to know.
- The world’s energy is getting cleaner (and cheaper) — but not quickly enough
- A carbon dividend really can slow fossil fuel use — under these conditions.