For President Donald Trump P ’00, the environment is a trivial concern. While he has ranged from having an “open mind” about climate change to describing it as a hoax created by China, Mr. Trump has been adamant that reinvigorating the coal industry and preserving American jobs are some of his highest priorities. These beliefs were recently put into action on March 28, 2017, when Trump signed an executive order at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to roll back some of the Obama administration’s progress on climate change initiatives, such as the Clean Power Plan.
After meeting with approximately 200 other countries to discuss climate change regulations at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2015, the United States entered an agreement to cut down on carbon emissions. Eventually, this Paris accord led to the creation of the Clean Power Plan just weeks after the COP occurred. The plan addresses the concern of carbon pollution by reducing carbon emissions from power plants, defending the planet from harmful greenhouse gases and protecting humans from polluted air. The EPA estimated that by 2030, the Clean Power Plan (CPP) will cause 32% less carbon emission than in 2005, as well as 90,000 fewer asthma attacks every year.
Despite all of these beneficial environmental changes, Mr. Trump has decided to review and most likely slash these Obama administration policies to make way for the abolishment of “federal overreach.” Additionally, he mentioned that he believes clean air and clean water should be the EPA’s chief concerns, which is ironic because increasing carbon emissions guarantees that the air will become more polluted.
Aside from his scientific knowledge and understanding, this executive order calls Mr. Trump’s international relations skills into question. While the United States once signed an agreement with 132 other nations to cut down on carbon pollution, we are now headed in the opposite direction. Not only will this legislation create tension between the United States and other global superpowers at the 23rd Conference of the Parties in November, but it will also make us seem dishonest and untrustworthy. Of course, this is all assuming that Mr. Trump attends the conference at all, which remains entirely uncertain. Remarkably, he has also threatened to completely remove us from the Paris climate deal altogether.
In addition to changing the CPP to create “energy independence” via his executive order, Mr. Trump released part of his 2018 budget proposal on March 16, 2017. The proposal indicated an extreme slash of 31% of the EPA total budget, a transition from their current $8.2 billion to $5.7 billion; its number of staff members would also be cut by 20%. Thus, Mr. Trump is making the EPA’s job nearly impossible. Their funding will simply not be enough to make any tangible changes to the current environmental situation, and they will be utterly incapable of researching climate change. Moreover, any United Nations climate change programs will lose all American financial support.
Both the executive order and the proposed budget would severely impact the United States’ role in global environmental initiatives. Not only will this decrease chances of curbing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, but it will negatively affect relationships between the United States and other nations. Our possible absence from the 23rd Conference of the Parties and lack in effort to slow climate change will most likely come across as negligent.
These new policies are ignorant of the developing nations that will suffer due to global warming. Poorer countries simply do not have the resources to deal with extreme weather changes and especially rising sea levels; conversely, more than 10% of nations — those who are emitting the most greenhouse gases — will end up in the bottom 20% of susceptible regions. While the CPP and the current EPA budget may not be perfect, ultimately, they are our best options. It is imperative that Mr. Trump amends the egregious policies and moves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — if not for the sake of the American people, then for the health and safety of other nations.
