Congressional Safe Climate Caucus Co-Chairs Blasts White House Decision To Pull U.S. Out Of Paris Climate Agreement

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 4, 2019) – Today, Congressmen Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) and Don Beyer (VA-08), co-chairs of the Congressional Safe Climate Caucus, released the following statement on the announcement by the White House that President Trump has formally begun the legal process to remove the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change:

“Pulling out of the Paris Agreement remains a short-sighted move by this administration, one done in fealty to fossil fuel lobbyists and which sells the future of our planet for short-term profits.

“This, just as in every aspect of the Trump Administration's climate policy, is a historic abdication of leadership. While the rest of the world prepares for a new round of global climate negotiations building on Paris, the U.S. remains at home, self-excluded from talks we should not only be attending, but leading.

“We are simply running out of time to act. And while the world moves forward--perhaps slowly, but at least steadily--the U.S. under this administration has become the obstacle to progress instead of part of the solution. While it would be easy to say that the Trump Administration has to live with this decision, the reality is that all of us across the planet and generations to come will ultimately have to live in a world made that much harsher and less habitable due to this move.

“Last week, we wrote to the administration urging them to keep our commitments and remain in the Paris agreement. In the letter, we stated ‘The United States must preserve its commitments at home and abroad. Weakening the U.S. presence in the fight against climate change imperils our standing on the world stage and undermines the value of U.S. commitment to international issues and solutions. We urge you to protect the future of the American public, American businesses, and American security by upholding the U.S. commitment to the Paris Agreement under the UNFCCC.’

“To withdraw from the Paris Agreement would be disastrous and shortsighted, not just for us, but for the entire world.”