the US will meet Paris accord commitments even if DonaldTrump withdraws

[zakzak]

I found a report in the "Independent" claiming that the US will meet Paris accord commitments even if DonaldTrump withdraws because renewable energy will be the cheapest form of power in almost every country by 2020 (With the exception of a few countries in Southeast Asia).
Which means that prices for clean energy will soon sink to lower than more polluting sources so the US will use more renewable resources not because they like them but because they are cheaper.

sounds like good news ( of course not for Trump!)

[___]

The thing about the Paris commitments is that it isn't some kind of one-standard-for-all thing. Every country promises as much as it can reach. There was no reason the USA had to withdraw. They could simply have said (as they did in the Bush era) that they cannot do this or that if it is going to mean job losses. Trump withdrew for political reasons only, because his constituency feels that America contributes disproportionately to the UN and peace-keeping and climate change etc etc... and they think back to the old days when GM made cars in America and people had jobs and there were no immigrants...

Of course, America still contributes the largest amount of carbon per capita (china contributes most by volume), so there is something really morally wrong with withdrawing: It's like saying thanks guys, I built my economy on the back of the steel revolution... but I ain't paying it back... the rest of you guys "moet maar opsnork" as we say in Afrikaans, that is, it's your problem. We could say the same about peace-keeping: You get involved in all these wars from Vietnam to Afghanistan to Iraq and then pull out? Really?

And yet... after all is said and done, because of certain other convictions I hold... Trump was the lesser evil. That's how badly the Americans chose their candidates this time.

So... if this thing can fix itself, it would be cool.

[malek94]

good news