Paris Climate Agreement had Devastating Economic Costs for US While China’s Pollution Continues

Guest post by Joe Hoft


(Picture of iconic ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium in Beijing taken in 2009 with polluted skies overhead.)

President Trump announced yesterday that the US is exiting disastrous Paris Climate Agreement by stating that his “job as President is to do everything within [his] power to give America a level playing field.”

According to the Heritage Foundation, the consequences to the US of this terrible agreement were devastating:

Companies [in the US] will pass higher costs on to consumers or absorb the costs, which prevents hiring and new investment. As prices rise, consumers buy less, and companies will drop employees, close entirely, or move to other countries where the cost of doing business is lower. The result is fewer opportunities for American workers, lower incomes, less economic growth, and higher unemployment.

However, according to C2ES.org China is not required to curtail or stop increasing its carbon footprint until 2030:

On June 30, 2015, China formally submitted its intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) to the new global climate agreement to be concluded this December in Paris. China committed to the following actions by 2030:
• Peaking of carbon dioxide emissions around 2030 and making best efforts to peak early;
• Lowering carbon dioxide intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP) by 60 to 65 percent from the 2005 level;
• Increasing the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20 percent; and
• Increasing the forest stock volume by around 4.5 billion cubic meters from the 2005 level.

The fact that China does not have to cut any carbon dioxide emissions until 2030 is absurd.  What is also absurd is that the US would have to cut emissions and increase energy costs while giving money to other countries in a socialist scheme under the guise of ‘climate control’.

Last year I traveled from Hubei Province in China to Hunan Province in a five hour car ride on a new super highway in the middle of China.  The highway was new but the back roads were not so good.  The unforgettable aspect of this 300 mile journey was that the air and sky were severely polluted the entire five hours.  There was no blue sky and no clouds in the sky either.

The trip started on a back road in Hubei Province.

The trip ended in Hunan Province.  The air was a polluted dark grey the entire trip.

The fact that China is given a 13 year pass in the Paris Climate Agreement while the US was to sacrifice for years in money, jobs and increased energy costs is the main reason that getting out of the agreement was the best thing President Trump could do for the US.

MAGA

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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Thanks for sharing!