We're out. Let the wailing and gnashing of teeth begin. Here's the president's statement:
Trump emphasizes that withdrawing from the Paris climate pact is necessary in order to protect American jobs and energy production.
Trump estimates that the pact has a negative impact of $3 trillion on U.S. GDP, and is a major job killer. He also puts a lot of emphasis on how much the deal allows other countries like China and India to do, versus the restrictions it places on the United States.
"This agreement is less about the climate, than about other countries getting an advantage over the United States," Trump declared.
Trump also pointed out that even if this entire deal is implemented in full, and worked as advertised, all it would do is reduce global temperatures by an average of 0.2 degrees Celsius. Does it really make sense to endure all this economic disruption for that?
Obviously not.
Yes, he says we'll look into negotiating a new deal, but he also says it's fine if we can't negotiate a good deal. That's classic Trump. He withdraws from deals that he thinks don't work, and he stays open to working out new ones - but he's also ready to walk away from the table if that's what's best.
