By Josh Aronson

As many people know, President Trump decided to pull out of the Paris Agreement. Much to the dismay of many Americans this was not only a move made out of spite, but has also already proven to be a serious detriment to our country. Marking the turning point in our efforts against climate change and creating unnecessary tension between ourselves and our allies, this truly was a grave mistake of the president’s.

To start off, the Paris Agreement revolves around dealing with and reducing the impacts of greenhouse gases to the planet. The US, being a developed nation that is one of the major emitters of greenhouse gases, should really take accountability. Had we stayed as a part of the agreement, it would have shown our willingness to keep our emissions lower and strive for a greater focus on renewable energy.

Something that makes the decision more puzzling than reproachable is that the agreement is not very strict. With no punishments to those who do not follow through with their promises, it really makes no sense why anyone would leave it. Trump would have been able to keep his America-first attitude with no consequences. In other words, his compliance would be irrelevant.

With this leniency in mind, it makes sense that Nicaragua and Syria are the only countries that have not signed the agreement yet. With the former having concerns about the strength of the agreement and the latter in the midst of a civil war since 2011 (Valverde, Miriam. “It’s True. Only Syria, Nicaragua Didn’t Sign Paris Deal.”), it makes sense as to why those are the only countries that are not yet part of the agreement.

It might be for these reasons that Trump is facing so much backlash for his decision. Among other countries, even North Korea has stepped forward to condemn the rash action. Calling the move “‘short sighted and silly’” (Austin, Henry. “North Korea Calls Trump’s Decision to Pull out of Paris Agreement ‘the Height of Egotism’.”), Kim Jong Un made an effort to pointedly shame the United States.

While it may not be a surprise that North Korea is voicing opposition to something that the United States has done, the worrying part is that there is actually merit in what they are saying. Because they are able to call us out for such a mistake, it shows how easily we can be called out.

This leads to the final and most frustrating part of this whole situation: the reception of other countries. Unable to see Trump’s reasoning –or lack thereof–many of our allies are outraged by this decision fueled by selfishness. Shortly after the announcement was made that the US would no longer be a part of the agreement, China started taking initiative as a way to show that they were ready to meet their obligation. This makes us look bad, since America should really be leading this cause.

All of this fallout will not bode well for the President. I fear for our relationships with our allies and for the shift of focus off of renewable energy. Hopefully people will still make an effort to make the country and the world greener. While the president obviously didn’t think this was a big deal, I couldn’t disagree more.

Works Cited

Valverde, Miriam. “It’s True. Only Syria, Nicaragua Didn’t Sign Paris Deal.” @politifact. Politifact, 01

June 2017. Web. 08 June 2017.

Austin, Henry. “North Korea Calls Trump’s Decision to Pull out of Paris Agreement ‘the Height of

Egotism’.” The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 08 June 2017. Web.

08 June 2017.