Farmers dismayed by Trump withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord

US President Donald Trump revealed the decision overnight which was a commitment he made in last year’s presidential election.

In response, the National Farmers’ Federation President Fiona Simson said the Trump administrations’ decision was disappointing.

Ms Simson said climate change posed a significant challenge for Australian farmers and the NFF supported the Australian government’s commitment to reducing emissions by 26-28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 in accordance with the Paris agreement.

“We were pleased to hear in Parliament this week Prime Minister Turnbull reaffirm Australia’s support for the agreement and for reaching the targets set,” Ms Simson said.

Ms Simson said nations still party to the agreement represented the majority of the global economy. 

“The Accord remained a powerful mechanism in the effort to address climate change.”

Shortly after becoming NFF President last year, Ms Simson revealed the peak farm lobby group had also changed its climate change policy which she said represented a “significant modernisation” of its thinking on the topic – moving from questioning the legitimacy of climate change and its scientific basis to one of acknowledgement and acceptance.

“This is now putting climate change on the map, saying that we understand climate change is a real challenge and that we need to work proactively around dealing with it and farmers can play a huge role in that,” she said at the time.

Farmers for Climate Action – an NFF member – described Mr Trump’s action as “reckless”, with CEO Verity Morgan-Schmidt saying the decision to withdraw the US from the international Paris climate change agreement was a “slap in the face” to farmers the world over, who are already coping with more extreme weather.

“Australian farmers want action on climate change because it is in our national interests,” she said.

“We are one of the most exposed countries to the impacts of climate change – such as worsening drought, bushfires, flooding and heatwaves – and agriculture is our most exposed industry.

“This decision puts Trump at odds not only with Australia, and 195 other countries, but also isolates him from the majority of businesses – including those within agriculture.”

In a statement in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Trump said the US would withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, but begin negotiations to re-enter, either the Paris Accord, or an entirely new transaction, on terms that are fair to the US, its businesses, workers, people and taxpayers

“So we’re getting out but we’ll start to negotiate and we’ll see if we can make a deal that’s fair and if we can that’s great and if we can’t that’s fine,” he said.

“As President I can put no other consideration before the well-being of American citizens.

“The Paris Climate Accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the US to the exclusive benefit of other countries, leaving American workers, who I love, and taxpayers, to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuddered factories and vastly diminished economic production.

“Thus as of today, the US will cease all implementation of the non-binding Paris Accord and the draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement imposes on our country.”

The Paris agreement sits within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and was struck in early 2016 with about 150 of the 195 countries having ratified it since.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the Paris Agreement had been entered into by over 140 countries including Australia and “We are committed to it”.

“As I’ve said publically, both recently and since last year, the US will obviously make its own decision - but Australia will remain committed to the Paris Agreement,” he said.

“When we enter into national agreements, we stick with them.

“We are on track to meet our emission reduction targets in accordance with the Paris Treaty and we are committed to that.

“We are committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with our commitments under the Paris Treaty which is, reducing from 2005 levels by 26 to 28 per cent by 2030.

“It is one of the highest per capita reduction targets, which is of course, the best comparable measure.

“So it is a very substantial commitment and we have the measures and policies in place to achieve that.”

Asked about the potential for the US to withdrawal form the agreement yesterday, Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce said “To speculate on a whole range of things is dangerous, to speculate on what Trump may do is insanity”.

“I’m just going to watch my Twitter and see what happens next,” he said.

Mr Joyce also said on Sky News, “If you sign up to something, you should see it through”.

“We’ve signed up and we should see it through otherwise people start asking questions about well, what’s the point of you signing it?” he said.

“I believe we are achieving our targets.

“The whole point of having international agreements is you comply with them.”

Opposition Shadow Climate Change Minister Mark Butler said Labor was “deeply disappointed” by the US failure to uphold the important international agreement.

“This decision to withdraw from the Paris Accords will put the US alongside Nicaragua and Syria as the only countries that are not signatories to the Accords,” he said.

“However, we welcome the determination of US states, local governments and citizens to continue to support international efforts to tackle climate change.

“The transition to clean energy and a global economy is irreversible and will continue regardless of this decision.

“Labor has faith the rest of the international community will continue strongly with their commitments under the accords.

“Now, more than ever, we need the Prime Minister to uphold our international promises and back them up with real climate change policies at home.”

The Australian Greens said the US withdrawal was a “phyrric victory” for the climate denialists and marked a turning point in the global fight against dangerous global warming.

Australian Greens leader Dr Richard Di Natale said, “Trump is just one sad, lonely man trying to withstand the unstoppable transition to a clean energy future that is happening across the world”.

Global Carbon Project Executive Director Dr Pep Canadell said regardless of whether the US was part of the Paris agreement or not, its current downward emissions trajectory was unlikely to change significantly, given it was driven by the economics of falling prices and abundance of natural gas and renewable energies.

Dr Pep Canadell said where a large impact from the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement can be expected was in building the necessary level of funding - the Green Fund - to support developing and emerging economies towards decarbonisation.

Professor William Laurance - Director of the Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science at James Cook University – said the US was now just one of two nations on Earth that had withdrawn from the Paris Climate Accord.

“When Americans voted for Trump, could they have imagined how far down the rabbit hole he was going to drag them?” he said.