CoalBlue Project comment on Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

“In announcing his intention to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on climate, President Trump spoke today of his being “elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”  It is impossible to hear the President refer to cities such as Pittsburgh, and Youngstown, Ohio, in explaining his decision on the Paris accord, and not be struck by the incongruity of his remarks today and his proposing, only eight days earlier, to slash, by 70%, the US Department of Energy budget for carbon capture programs.  The dissonance between the two is both shocking and unsettling.”

“For the working men and women of western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and in communities across America tied to the production and use of fossil energy – coal, natural gas, or oil – continued federal support for the development and deployment of new and emerging carbon capture technologies is of paramount importance, just as it matters to all Americans concerned about, and committed to, a sustainable energy future.”

“That energy and environmental advocates have overcome long-standing differences and are now working together, in an extraordinary display of unity, in support carbon capture makes the President’s budget decision all the more inexplicable.”

“While we find the President’s concerns about the Paris accord difficult to reconcile with an agreement that is, in essence, entirely voluntary, we are even more troubled by his proposal to gut to DOE carbon capture budget.”

“During last year’s campaign, then-candidate Trump repeatedly spoke of putting coal miners back to work, and he has repeated those promises as President.  Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement will not create any new coal jobs in America.  Yet, supporting the accelerated deployment of carbon capture systems will do both that and constructively move our nation forward toward a balanced, and thus more secure, fossil-inclusive sustainable energy future.”

“We urge the President to remain true to his word.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/power/05062017/coalblue-project-comment-on-trumps-withdrawal-from-the-paris-agreement/