Trump announces withdrawal from Paris Agreement

The U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday announced his intention for the United States to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.

The announcement swiftly led to reactions from political, renewable energy industry, environmentalist, scientific and other circles.

“It is very disappointing that the US government decided to pull out of the universally agreed Paris Agreement. It is turning its back to the global fight against Climate Change at a moment when all over the world citizens , cities, companies and countries move forward towards a low-carbon future. Europe will keep its promises. It will continue to play a leadership role, together with all other international partners who remain committed to preserving our planet,” Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President of the European Commission for the Energy Union, stated on social media.

The former U.S. president, Barack Obama, released a statement, saying: “A year and a half ago, the world came together in Paris around the first-ever global agreement to set the world on a low-carbon course and protect the world we leave to our children. It was steady, principled American leadership on the world stage that made that achievement possible. It was bold American ambition that encouraged dozens of other nations to set their sights higher as well.”

“The nations that remain in the Paris Agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created. I believe the United States of America should be at the front of the pack. But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got,” Obama concluded.

The trend towards renewable energy technologies are based on economics rather than regulation, and the U.S. withdrawal, expected to take a minimum of four years, will not do much to halt that progress, our sister news site Offshore WIND cited the Business Network for Offshore Wind (BizMDOSW) as stating.