Statement: Trump administration decision to officially begin pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement is ‘wrong-headed’

Environment Colorado

DENVER — The Trump administration announced yesterday that the United States will officially begin the process of pulling out of the international Paris Climate Accord next month. The withdrawal can be finalized as soon as the day after the next presidential election on Nov. 4, 2020.

Then-President Barack Obama announced the United States would enter the Paris Agreement in September 2016, saying, “We are here together because we believe that for all the challenges that we face, the growing threat of climate change could define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other challenge.”

Len  Montgomery, Field Director for Environment Colorado’s Global Warming Solutions campaign, issued the following statement: 

“Since President Trump first announced that he would pull our country out of the Paris Accord and renege on America’s promise to do our part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Coloradoans have experienced record heat, droughts, fires and more. Climate change is real, and it’s here. We are causing it, and we are suffering from the impacts.

“The president’s ongoing commitment to dirty fossil fuels endangers the health of every man, woman and child in this country. Governors, state leaders and local officials have banded together to commit to meeting America’s promise in the U.S. Climate Alliance. Even at the federal level, two U.S. Senators announced today that they will launch the first-ever bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus. All this makes sense because polls show that voters want our leaders to act on climate.

“And yet the President persists with this wrong-headed withdrawal from our international commitment to stop climate change. It’s a travesty, and one we will fight him on every step of the way.”

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Environment Colorado is a citizen based advocacy organization that works to protect our clean air, water, and open space.