Au Revoir! Trump Pulls Out Of Paris Climate Deal

In the next few days there will be a lot of commotion and concern over why President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement. However, the answer is quite simple: it was one of the worst agreements of which the United States has ever been a part.

The Paris Climate Agreement is a deal within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance. Basically, it is every climate change supporters dream.

But, how much does it really benefit the environmental cause? In reality, the Paris Climate Agreement would have close to no impact on global temperatures.

According to the EPA's own model, if the whole industrial world eliminated all CO2 emissions, the average global temperature would only expect to rise by 0.278 degrees Celsius.

In scientific terms, this is a trivial value. In economic terms, it’s a waste of money that could be used in a far more significant way. In terms of climate change, little to nothing would be different if President Trump had decided to remain a part of the Paris Accord.

Now, the vast amount of money lost because of the Paris Climate Agreement can be put towards something more valuable, like finding a cure for diseases or helping solve world hunger; these are much more meaningful endeavors.

The UN estimates that for 75 billion dollars a year, we could provide every person on earth with education, healthcare, food supply and clean drinking water. Instead, hundreds of nations chose to put their money towards an agreement that does nothing for themselves, and nothing for the United States. In fact, this agreement is a massive redistribution of the United States wealth to other countries.

There are obvious compliance costs associated with climate change regulations, and these would have continued to drive the price of energy higher. Higher prices negatively affect the U.S. economy and can lead to a whole host of economic consequences, included increased unemployment rates and difficulties for small businesses.

Employing the American people and growing small businesses has been a clear priority of President Trump and his administration from the beginning, and the Paris Climate Agreement was standing in the way of that.

Nicole Finkel is a columnist for the GW College Republicans. The opinions expressed on this blog are her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official views of the GW College Republicans.