The U.S. announced that it would withdraw from the Paris climate accord as expected at the beginning of June and begin negotiations to either re-enter or negotiate an entirely new agreement with more favorable terms. (See News, p. 13.) During the December 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris, parties reached an agreement to combat climate change. In September 2016, the U.S. formally entered the Paris agreement under the former administration. The current administration estimates that complying with the Paris climate accord would cost the U.S. economy nearly $3 trillion over the next several decades.
Environmental activists immediately cried foul and demonstrations were held in some urban centers. Moderates in the mainstream media also tried to guilt the tech-savvy crowd by suggesting that, if the U.S. pulled out of the agreement, China would lead the way and leave America behind. That is complete nonsense.
