Desdemona Despair

By Michael D. Shear
1 June 2017

WASHINGTON (The New York Times) – President Trump announced Thursday that he will withdraw the United States from participation in the Paris climate accord, weakening global efforts to combat climate change and siding with conservatives who argued that the landmark 2015 agreement was harming the economy. […]

Mr. Trump’s decision is a remarkable rebuke to fellow heads-of-state, climate activists, corporate executives, and members of the president’s own staff, all of whom failed this week to change Mr. Trump’s mind with an intense, last-minute lobbying blitz. […]

Mr. Obama, in a rare assertion of his political views as a former president, castigated the decision.

“The nations that remain in the Paris agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created,” he said in a statement. “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.” […]

Most Republicans supported the decision. […] But Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, tweeted: “Climate change requires a global approach. I’m disappointed in the President’s decision.”

In recent days, Mr. Trump withstood withering criticism from European counterparts who accused him of shirking America’s role as a global leader and America’s responsibility as the world’s second largest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gasses. And he shrugged aside pleas from executives of the United States’ largest companies, who said the decision will damage the environment and hamper their efforts to compete around the world.

The president’s decision was a victory for Stephen K. Bannon, his chief strategist, and Scott Pruitt, his Environmental Protection Agency administrator, both of whom had argued forcefully to abandon the global agreement in favor of a clean break that would clear the way for a new environmental approach.

Other top aides, including Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council; the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump; and his secretary of state, Rex W. Tillerson, had insisted to Mr. Trump that remaining a part of the agreement would have allowed the United States to eviscerate Obama-era climate rules without as much damage to relations with other countries. […]

Corporate leaders also condemned Mr. Trump’s action. In a statement on its website, I.B.M. reaffirmed its support for the Paris agreement and took issue with the president’s contention that it is a bad deal for American workers and the American economy. [more]

Trump Will Withdraw U.S. From Paris Climate Agreement

By Russ Mitchell
1 June 2017

(The Los Angeles Times) – Elon Musk said he was resigning from two White House advisory councils after President Trump announced Thursday that he is withdrawing from the Paris climate accord.

“Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world,” Musk tweeted.

Musk, the chief executive of both Tesla and SpaceX, had warned on Wednesday that he would quit the councils if Trump pulled out of the climate agreement.

Musk said he had “done all I can" — as a member of the advisory councils, through White House personnel and directly with the president — to push Trump to stick with the Obama-era plan. […]

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, a member of Trump’s council on manufacturing, also tweeted his disapproval on Thursday. [more]

Elon Musk quits Trump councils in protest: 'Climate change is real'