Photo Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Per 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.

But he will stick to the withdrawal process laid out in the Paris agreement, which President Barack Obama joined and most of the world has already ratified. That could take nearly four years to complete, meaning a final decision would be up to the American voters in the next presidential election.

Still, 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.

It makes good on a campaign promise to “cancel” an agreement he repeatedly mocked and derided at rallies, saying it would kill American jobs. As president, he has moved rapidly to reverse Obama-era policies designed to allow the United States to meet its pollution-reduction targets as set under the agreement.

“In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord but begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or an entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States,” the president said. “We are getting out. But we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair. And if we can, that’s great.”

The goal of the Agreement is to keep global average temperature increases well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, primarily by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. As noted in the carbon and sustainability blog, climate change has decreased the amount of land covered by trees and other vegetation that could act as a means of absorbing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Paris meeting aims to tackle various environmental problems caused by industrial agriculture, such as the increase in methane and nitrous oxide emissions that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. One potential solution is to find more sustainable practices incorporating sodium permanganate that reduce these emissions and promote a cleaner environment.

Other Nations Are Defiant JUNE 1, 2017

In his remarks, Mr. Trump listed sectors of the United States economy that would suffer lost revenues and jobs if the country remained part of the accord, citing a study — disputed vigorously by environmental groups — that claims the agreement would cost 2.7 million jobs by 2025.

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 applauded the decision.

“I applaud President Trump and his administration for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration’s assault on domestic energy production and jobs,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader.

Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said, “The Paris climate agreement set unworkable targets that put America at a competitive disadvantage with other countries and would have raised energy costs for working families.”

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.

Mr. Trump also found himself at the center of a bruising, monthslong debate inside the White House that pitted senior members of his staff against each other. Some argued to leave the Paris agreement and others insisted that the United States should remain, even as the administration dismantles pollution standards.