Today President Donald J. Trump announced that the United States will cease to participate in the Paris Climate Accord sponsored by the United Nations. Under the Accord, which the United States entered in 2016, the U.S. originally agreed to cut carbon emissions by 26-28% of recorded 2005 levels by 2025. However, President Trump has announced that the United States will no longer enforce the agreement, despite the United States being one of the heaviest contributors of carbon emissions in the world.

“President Trump’s decision not to participate in the Paris Climate Accords is beyond disappointing. It is shameful and downright terrifying. In the face of incontrovertible evidence that human caused climate change is real and that the United States has helped cause it, Donald Trump continues to enact policy decisions that will benefit no one but the ultra-elite who have reaped the benefits of denying climate change for decades. Anthropogenic climate change is undeniable, and far from a hoax, as parts of the world are already facing the effects of human caused climate change. It is in the best interest of everyone, including American citizens, to take immediate action to limit carbon emissions and stop the threat of global warming from harming our country. It is the duty of elected officials to do everything in their power to take this threat seriously to protect the lives of Americans by combatting it. President Trump’s decision is nothing short of a dereliction of duty and a slap in the face to hardworking Americans who will ultimately be the ones to pay the price for denial and delayed action to combat this threat,” said Assemblyman Dinowitz.