Trump’s Pull Out from Paris Climate Agreement is a Crime against Humanity | Soma Marla

On 20th January evening , soon after his swearing in ceremony, President Donald Trump signed an order to withdraw from the Paris climate accord and immediately dispatched a letter to the United Nations explaining his decision.

This is a very unfortunate decision especially 2024, the very first year to pass 1.5C global warming limit. This would potentially impacts all efforts to tackle the rising temperatures, stall threatening global warming that is challenging the survival of life on this planet.

This decision comes after global temperatures in 2024 rose more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for the first time in a calendar year. As a consequence of global warming unprecedented heavy rains, floods, landslides in India, Europe, devastating wild fires in California, droughts and submergence of small island nations became a regular feature.

The Paris Agreement, 2015, is the document that drives global co-operation to limit the causes of global warming. It strengths the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), initially agreed to by all 195 countries, including the United States then under presidency of Barack Obama. Everyone agrees to the fact that Climate change is caused principally by the burning of fossil fuels. These fuels are consumed by Capital although the industrial development especially during the last hundred years. According to Carbon Major Database ( 2024 ) some 57 oil, gas, coal and cement producers are directly linked to 72% of the world’s global fossil CO2 emissions since the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement. These fossil fuels are consumed by, thermal coal power plants, transport systems, steel, fertilizer, cement industries, agricultural and military systems. Powerful Western nations and big capital instead of elimination of harmful use of hydrocarbons and like President Trump advocates climate denial and says fossil fuels are not contributing to climate change. deny climate change. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi too denies global warming and climate change. In 2017, during his first term in Office Trump had pulled out of Paris climate aggrement. He even encouraged massive oil drilling, freaking ( extracting oil and gas by cracking hard rocks and mountains), laying new oil pipelines across America. Again he is repeating his past action.

Although makes only 4 percent of global population United States is responsible for about 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This makes it one of the largest contributors to global warming. 

Now Mr. Trump wants to on Monday evening Trump signed a declaration of a national energy emergency, an executive order that will allow the returning president to accelerate permitting for energy projects including pipelines and power plants and drill oil in Alaska and other places. This annulets former President Biden’s recent order banning oil drilling in oil rich states of America.

However, USA is the largest producer of fossil fuels and they are already flowing like never before. Since 2016, production of American oil has gone up by 70%, making US, now the world’s dominant producer and exporter.
Similarly Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports have gone from almost zero in 2016 to the US becoming the global lead. In wake of energy sanctions on Russia ( in Ruso-Ukrain war), USA is supplieng huge quantities of liquid natural gas to Europe. European nations are forced to buy American gas at much higher price compared to earlier Russian prices.

The new administration says the president will also end the "green new deal", a reference to the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s signature climate policy that channelled billions into clean energy.

After Affects:

US withdrawal may be far more damaging to the global effort to limit emissions, as climate change.

Apart from leading to rise in oil prices world wide Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement impacts Green Climate fund to assist climate vulnerable developing nations. Currently America contributes the $3 billion U.S dollars. The decision also reduces funding for projects researching climate change.

Pull out from Paris agreement is draconian action against humanity, Scientists warn that rising temperatures are taking world a cliff hanger to a dead end for survival of future life on the planrt. and there may not be All countries who signed Paris aggrement for reduction of green house gas emission should come together to oppose Mr. Trump’s unilateral action against humanity and continue their climate efforts to rescue our planet.

(Author: Dr. Soma Marla, Principal Scientist and Head, Retd, ICAR, New Delhi)