Trump to NYT: ‘open mind’ on quitting climate accords

Of particular concern to scientists and environmentalists around the world is Trump’s vow to “cancel” us participation in the Paris climate agreement, negotiated by almost 200 countries late past year and the foundation for a global push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, country by country.

President-elect Trump could roll back Obama’s environmental legacyIn about two months, the US government will officially complete its transition from one president to the next.

Cooperation between the USA and China, after all, is what made the Paris climate agreement possible.

But aid agencies were disappointed by a lack of concrete targets to boost worldwide government funding to help poor communities adapt to more extreme weather and rising seas.

“Some, something. It depends on how much”, he told a panel of New York Times journalists. And I think my voice is listened to, especially by people that don’t believe in it. Indeed, Trump’s campaign promised to “rescind all job-destroying Obama executive actions” in the service of the country’s energy goals.

“I’m looking at it very closely”, he said in response to a question about whether the U.S. would drop out of the accord. After all, it was the United States that paired up with China to push through last year’s historic Paris Agreement after decades of failure to act decisively.

Fiji’s prime minister even invited Trump to visit his island country to see for himself the effects of climate change if he still entertains doubts.

Kerry, who has led the Obama administration’s charge on climate, has also talked about locking in certain aspects of the climate deal before Trump takes over, although attendees at the Marrakech summit say they have no idea what that means. This is a massive blow to the global climate effort as the U.S. has promised $100 billion a year from 2020 as part of the Paris climate agreement. Other countries, including India, may use U.S. withdrawal as a reason to pull back themselves — or not, considering their vulnerability to climate change. Also informing Mr. Trump’s thinking as part of the transition team is Michael McKenna, an influential Republican energy lobbyist who has urged Republican lawmakers to deny climate science.

One interesting aspect is that China, the world’s No. 1 polluter – America is second – showed itself at Marrakesh to stand ready to pick up the banner of world leadership on this important issue if the United States, under Mr. Trump, wants to walk off the field of play.