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Ag Reactions to Paris Accord

Opinions vary among the agricultural community on President Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate accord.

On June 2, President Donald Trump removed the United States from a nonbinding climate change pact, called the Paris climate accord, among nearly 200 countries.


According to the Associated Press, the White House indicated it would follow the lengthy exit process outlined in the deal. That means the United States would formally remain in the agreement for three and a half more years.


Under former President Barack Obama, the Associated Press explains, the United States had agreed under the accord to reduce polluting emissions by more than a quarter below 2005 levels by 2025. The national targets are voluntary, leaving room for the United States and other countries in the agreement to alter their commitments.


Opinions on this action varied within the agricultural community.


Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said: “President Trump promised that he would put America first, and he has rightly determined that the Paris accord was not in the best interests of the United States. In addition to costing our economy trillions of dollars and millions of jobs, the accord also represented a willful and voluntary ceding of our national sovereignty. The agreement would have had negligible impact on world temperatures, especially since other countries and major world economies were not being held to the same stringent standards as the United States.


“The Earth’s climate has been changing since the planet was formed — on this there is no disagreement. At USDA, we rely on sound science and we remain firmly committed to digging ever deeper into research to develop better methods of agricultural production in that changing climate. Floods, droughts and natural disasters are a fact of life for farmers, ranchers and foresters. They have persevered in the past, and they will adapt in the future — with the assistance of the scientists and experts at USDA. To be effective, our research and programs need to be focused on finding solutions and providing state-of-the-art technologies to improve management decisions on farm and on forest lands.”


Voicing concerns included National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson, saying the decision rejects science and U.S. leadership in an effort that requires global attention.


Johnson says: “[This] decision by the Trump administration is shameful, and it fails to recognize the very real and immediate threats of climate change to family farmers, ranchers and our nation’s food security. We cannot sustain a viable food system if climate change is left unchecked.


“This action also has enormous implications for our nation’s credibility,” he added. “It is nearly inconceivable that the U.S. would repudiate sound science that the rest of the world has accepted and abdicate our leadership on an issue of such great importance.”


“When properly incentivized, farmers, ranchers and forest owners have tremendous potential to sequester carbon and contribute to the mitigation of climate change,” said Johnson. “By taking away the opportunity for such revenue streams, the president has stripped rural America of valuable opportunities to confront the current farm crisis and stem the exodus of young people from rural communities.”


“NFU will seek opportunities to collaborate with nonprofits and private industry to address climate change productively. Decisive action is urgently needed to avoid catastrophic climate impacts on the food system,” he concluded.


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Editor’s Note: This article is compiled from information from the Associated Press, USDA and National Farmer’s Union.



 

 

 

 

 

 





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