First it was Iran, now the Republicans are attempting to undermine President Obama in United Nations (UN) climate change talks that the administration plans to participate in later this year, reported Reuters.
Leaders from UN member countries will gather in Paris from Nov. 30 through Dec. 11 this year. The goal is to create a global climate agreement that calls for the decrease of greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent from 2005 level within ten years. However, the Republicans are looking to disrupt this progress.
“Considering that two-thirds of the U.S. federal government hasn’t even signed off on the Clean Power Plan and 13 states have already pledged to fight it, out international partners should proceed with caution before entering into a binding, unattainable deal,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
In short, McConnell’s warning implies that even if Obama is successful in the U.N. climate change talks, the Republicans will just try to undo it, especially if the GOP wins the White House in 2016. McConnell’s warning is similar to the letter that 47 GOP senators sent to Iran on March 9.
If Obama commits the United States to a global climate deal, the Republicans will do everything they can to ensure that the country can’t uphold its part. However, some environmental advocates say that the Republicans would have difficulty dismantling any new emissions laws that would result from the U.N. talks.
“The Clear Air Act has proven to be quite durable,” said David Waskow of the World Resources Institute. “While elements may be slowed or modified by legal challenges, they are rarely overturned.”
The Republicans have a knack for making the United States look completely ridiculous. They did it with the open letter to Iran, which was apparently run through the english-to-arabic Google translator and was torn apart by the Iranian foreign minister. They are now looking to double down on their silliness with the UN climate talks.
