Donald Trump, petulantly whining about “fairness”, pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement last week. Trump quit the game, walking off the field, and in the process abdicated leadership both at home and across the world in the movement to transition the world to a new energy economy. The Paris Agreement, signed by nearly every country in the world, is an attempt to keep global temperature increase less than 1.5 degrees and thus avoid some of the worst catastrophes from climate change.
So what is the game we are going to lose now that Trump walked off the field? The Paris Climate Agreement opened a multi trillion opportunity in global alternative energy development. In other words, if the US had been quick on its feet, there was an enormous opportunity for the export of solar and wind hardware and technology. Imagine an armada setting sail with American made solar panels and wind turbines and American experts fanning out across the globe to help this warming world transition to new energy. Imagine the powerful economic engine it would take to produce the new technologies for the world. Imagine the a tidal wave of new jobs it would create. Now imagine this golden opportunity falling into the lap of Trump’s arch rival, China. Trump’s failure of leadership has done just that. The United States, Nicaragua and Syria are the only countries on the entire planet that are not backing the Paris Climate Agreement. With these exceptions, the rest of the planet is looking to buy green technologies and China is already there with contracts in hand. This petulant man-child who brags about deal making has just sidelined America in the best deal on the planet.