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If the White House withdraws from the Paris climate accord, we’re going to adopt it in Los Angeles. #CAPIdeas

— Eric Garcetti (@ericgarcetti) May 16, 2017

How will this decision impact other countries?

Some representatives of other countries have suggested that the U.S. should leave the agreement if the current administration isn’t serious about policies that combat climate change. Joseph Curtin, a member of the Irish Climate Change Advisory Council, wrote that it might be more responsible for the U.S. to leave the agreement now and rejoin when the country is “ready to behave like a responsible global citizen.”

“The Paris Agreement is not intended as a fig leaf. It is not a branding opportunity, nor is it intended as a platform for lobbying. It is a club for countries who are part of a global effort to tackle dangerous climate change, and who are committed to emissions reductions. The U.S. no longer meets these admission criteria,” Curtin wrote for a climate news site.

While several global leaders have promised to forge ahead on climate change goals, scientists and environmentalists worry that if the U.S. backs out of the deal, smaller, less developed countries will have an excuse to also walk back their commitments.

It’s important to remember that the U.S. is also the second largest emitter of carbon and greenhouse gases in the world and so the decision to go on full steam ahead, without an eye toward renewables, clean energy or new standards could result in significantly more pollution from the U.S. that arguably impacts people in other countries.

Why are Republicans suggesting Trump withdraw from the Paris Agreement and will it really cost jobs?

Top Senate Republicans wrote to Trump last week urging him to make a “clean break” from the Paris climate accord. Their argument was that with the agreement still formally on the table, it could be harder for the president to roll back the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which he has promised to do.

That plan had sought to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants, and the fear among conservatives was that environmentalists could use the Paris Agreement as grounds to sue the U.S. government. Even if the terms and benchmarks of the deal were nonbinding, they worried some would try to legally demand the U.S. do more.

Republicans in favor of withdrawing see the move as one more way this new White House is freeing energy companies from potential federal and even international regulations. Fewer regulations, they argue, promote business and more jobs. According to The Washington Post and Forbes, there are approximately five times more Americans working in solar power than in coal, and renewable energy jobs have been going up steadily the last decade.

What do other international leaders think about the U.S. potentially leaving the Paris Agreement?

Global leaders strongly encouraged the U.S. to stay in the agreement, but many big players also said in recent days that they will honor their own commitments even if the U.S. retreats.

The world can count on Europe to keep global climate leadership. Together,we will stand by Paris, will defend Paris #EUChina #ParisAgreement https://t.co/Em1jrzcFQh

— Miguel Arias Cañete (@MAC_europa) May 31, 2017

After the G7 summit last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear she thought Europe would need to lead in this area, while both China and India have made aggressive investments and promises to reduce pollution and emission in their own countries.

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