US Senator Mike Rounds’ Weekly Column: Paris Climate Agreement Another Misguided Step That Puts U.S. At Competitive Disadvantage

Paris Climate Agreement Another Misguided Step That Puts U.S. At Competitive Disadvantage
By Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

Last year, President Obama entered into a radical climate agreement called the Paris Agreement with other global leaders in an attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gas. Unfortunately, it is a bad deal for America. We all want to pass on a clean, safe environment to future generations, but the Paris Agreement was made without the support of Congress or the American people. The new energy restrictions outlined in the Paris Agreement will lead to higher electricity rates and regulatory costs for U.S. producers and manufacturers, which are passed onto us in the form of higher prices. This puts our country at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of the world as we compete for new markets to sell our goods and services.  Simply put, the Paris Agreement is a bad deal for the United States’ economy.  It shackles our economy and raises electricity costs without even meeting the agreement’s goal of having an effect on climate change.

Currently under the agreement, the United States is obligated to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by the year 2025, or about 1.1 billion tons. That’s in addition to the more than 820 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions we’ve already cut over the past decade. Meanwhile, other signers, including Russia, India and Iran, are allowed to actually increase or have no cap on their emissions output. Crazier yet, China, the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, has no emissions cap. So, while we increase our costs of production, the rest of the world continues to produce greenhouse gases and grow their economies which explains why research has shown the agreement has no measurable effect on the environment.

Cutting emissions comes at a big cost to our economy. According to a March 2017 study by NERA Economic Consulting, the Paris Agreement will cost the United States $3 trillion and cut 6.5 million jobs by 2040. Industry in the United States has already been stymied by the countless regulations imposed throughout President Obama’s tenure in office. It’s time that we allow industry to grow and create more jobs for our citizens. They should not have to leave the U.S. to competitively produce their products. The Paris Agreement is a bad deal, one which impacts our economy while allowing other countries to continue producing greenhouse gas emissions.

Good energy policies include an ‘all of the above’ approach that will strengthen our economy, create jobs and enhance our energy independence.  While we only have one clean coal power plant located at Big Stone in South Dakota, we still rely on electricity produced at clean coal fired plants in other states.

In South Dakota, we have clean air and water. We intend to keep it that way. We also intend to have a strong economy that creates jobs for our citizens. These are not mutually exclusive. Let’s do both. Let’s not destroy our economy by adhering to the Paris Agreement, an agreement which clearly allows for the production of greenhouse gases by most of the rest of the world.

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6 thoughts on “US Senator Mike Rounds’ Weekly Column: Paris Climate Agreement Another Misguided Step That Puts U.S. At Competitive Disadvantage”

  1. ” Paris Agreement was made without the support of Congress or the American people.”– That is tjhe way something works genius…. Pander to the ignorant.

    China has or is about to close their last coal powered plant—– This guy is a liar in the same league as his babbling “glorious leader”

    That was as far as I could get through this —another insulting mangled facts and lies from this pandering insulting clown..

    1. How is it things work, genius? Obama was supposed to run around and sign whatever socialist, idiotic things he wanted without support from Congress or the American people? What country are you from?

      Where did you read that China has or is about to close their last coal-powered plant? Mother Jones? You should do some more reading. China has stopped construction of coal-powered plants in 15 regions, but that was due to over-capacity and a glut in electricity, not because they are went green. Therefore, either you are a liar or just don’t know where to look for facts, genius.

      Obama pandered to the ignorant-a/k/a, Democrats-for 8 years, so I guess you should understand pandering, but it doesn’t fit in this one, genius.

  2. Pat, fair enough. Makes sense…? Sort of…?

    Yeah, Mike, about what about China…

    “China has announced a plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions over the next several years, while capping coal consumption and increasing the use of non-fossil fuels.
    Under the plan, by 2020, the level of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will be 18 percent lower than in 2015, the State Council said on its website Friday, the same day that the Paris climate agreement came into effect.
    Coal consumption must be capped at about 4.2 billion tonnes (4.7 billion tons), while non-fossil fuel energy generation capacity like hydropower and nuclear power will be expanded to 15 percent of China’s total capacity.
    China has taken a leading role in climate change talks, and its collaboration with the United States has been touted by Washington and Beijing as a bright spot in an otherwise strained relationship.
    China will guarantee that emissions peak no later than 2030 under the Paris pact. There are also plans to officially launch a national carbon trading market next year.
    In recent years, China has become a world leader in renewable energy investment and installation of new wind and solar power capacity…

    Source: https://phys.org/news/2016-11-china-curb-carbon-emissions.html#jCp

    And jobs? Golly, who would have thought that weening ourselves off coal would reduce coal mining jobs? That never happened to blacksmiths and ferriers, right? Meanwhile green energy jobs are exploding:

    “The number of U.S. jobs in solar energy overtook those in oil and natural gas extraction for the first time last year, helping drive a global surge in employment in the clean-energy business as fossil-fuel companies faltered.

    Employment in the U.S. solar business grew 12 times faster than overall job creation, the International Renewable Energy Agency said in a report on Wednesday. About 8.1 million people worldwide had jobs in the clean energy in 2015, up from 7.7 million in 2014…

    Source: bloomberg

    Trashing the planet for campaign donations is a far greater threat. I guess family values only extend as far as the ones alive right now. Future generations can look to Kevin Costner (with gills!) for help.

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