WASHINGTON, D.C. – Donald Trump’s advisors and cabinet officials will today convene a meeting to consider the United States’ commitment to the Paris Agreement, according to reports. The two choices under consideration are weakening the U.S’s already inadequate commitment under the Agreement or pulling out of the pact altogether.
Friends of the Earth Senior Political Director Ben Schreiber issued the following statement ahead of the meeting:
Donald Trump has put fossil fuel interests in charge of the United States government and the result is going to be climate catastrophe. Debating a choice between weakening U.S. climate action or withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is simply an exercise in rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Either way, Trump continues to allow fossil fuel interests to dictate U.S. policy, steering our planet toward a collision course with physics to the great detriment of all living things.
The United States is the world’s largest historic climate polluter. Our country has a moral imperative to take action proportionate to our responsibility for this crisis. Our commitments under the Paris Agreement were already woefully inadequate given our responsibility and the severity of the problem. By holding this meeting, Trump has communicated to the rest of the world that the U.S. is a climate pariah. We call on world leaders to use every political and economic means available to compel Trump to act in accordance with what climate science and justice demand.
Friends of the Earth fights to create a more healthy and just world. Our current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, ensuring the food we eat and products we use are safe and sustainable, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.