Majority Want Paris Climate Deal Decided By Senate

According to a poll released on June 2, three-fifths of voters believe President Donald Trump should defer to the Senate his decision on whether to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, a pact signed by 195 nations that agreed to collectively work towards combating climate change.

A Rasmussen poll, taken from May 31-June 1, found 30 percent of voters agreed with Trump’s move to exit the pact, while 60 percent felt he should submit his decision to the Senate.

During a press conference on May 24, Senate Democrats urged the president to stay in the agreement, citing importance in maintaining the U.S. role in world politics.

“Imagine that: Donald Trump, who campaigned repeatedly that China was eating our lunch and taking our jobs, is willing to cede both economic and moral ground to China,” said Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, reports CBS News.

Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware noted the U.S. would join the only two other world powers that have yet to sign the pact.

“We would be joining Syria and Nicaragua,” said Carper. “That’s not a pleasant company for us to be in in regards to this issue.”

Other members of the Senate piled on in support of staying.

“I urge the president to remain at the table and to exercise US leadership on this very important global issue,” said Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland.

Many Republicans in Washington have urged the president to leave the agreement.

“On one side are his friends and allies,” said Republican strategist of Michael McKenna of the voices in Trump’s ear, according to The Daily Caller. “On the other are people like France’s prime minister, various environmental groups, and the State Department. That should clarify on which side the president should be.” 

On May 25, 22 GOP senators sent a letter to Trump that said U.S. membership in the deal gives Democrats partisan leverage over Trump’s agenda.

“It is clear that those advocating for greenhouse gas regulations will use the Paris Agreement as a legal defense against your actions to rescind the Clean Power Plan if you decide to remain in the Paris Agreement,” explained the letter from Republican senators. “This is why it is so important for you to make a clean exit from the Agreement.”

The Paris Climate Agreement unilaterally mandates participating countries to set their own targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to PolitiFact.

But the agreement contains a provision stipulating a four-year waiting period before a country can exit the pact, according to The Washington Post.

The terms of the agreement say the U.S. won’t be able to abandon the agreement until November 2020, according to NPR.  

Sources: Rasmussen Reports, The Daily Caller, The Washington Post, NPR, CBS News, PolitiFact / Photo credit: Navajo Nation Washington Office Washington Office/Flickr