Trump’s Paris pullout leaves America's global leadership in flames

Today is the day that America's global leadership ends. Congratulations, Washington, you have become worse than useless. You are now positively dangerous. Leaving the Paris Climate Agreement is leaving the civilized world.

Jeffrey Sachs on Donald Trump -  "He is an old,
 sleazy, lazy and ignorant man. He knows
 nothing about climate science.
Perhaps he is also suffering from dementia."

Hyperbole? Not so. Global warming is an existential threat. Every literate person knows it, including the management of ExxonMobil, Chevron and nearly every climate scientist across the land and the world.

So, what is going on? Donald Trump is an obvious starting point. He is an old, sleazy, lazy and ignorant man. He knows nothing about climate science. Perhaps he is also suffering from dementia. That is plausible, but a topic not raised in polite company.

Yet the withdrawal from Paris goes well beyond Trump. If you have any doubt, just take a look at the letter sent to Trump by 22 Republican senators on the eve of Trump's trip to Europe. These senators, almost all from coal, oil and gas producing states, called on Trump to pull out of Paris. Trump's move is not the result of an addled mind, or not only that. It reflects U.S. politics.

Read Jeffery Sachs comment in the New York Daily News - “Trump’s Paris pullout leaves America's global leadership in flames.”

Australia needs to cut carbon emissions - Climate Change Authority

 

T

he Climate Change Authority says Australia needs to cut carbon emissions by 30% by 2025 and sign up to further cuts of 40-60% by 2030 to catch up to other countries in the international effort to mitigate the risks of global warming.

The authority’s call for Australia to show increased ambition and global leadership comes ahead of the Abbott government announcing its final decision on the post-2020 targets Australia will take to United Nations climate talks in Paris later this year.

“The authority believes its recommendations constitute a credible package for the Australian government to take to the Paris conference,” the Climate Change Authority (CCA) said in its final report on emissions reduction targets, released on Thursday.

“It is credible in terms of what the science requires – and what many comparable countries are doing – to move the world back towards a global emissions reduction path consistent with a reasonable chance of limiting the increase in global warming to 2C.

Read The Guardian story - “Australia must cut carbon emissions by 30% by 2025, says Climate Change Authority”.