Goodbye Paris, Hello Nicaragua: Why Trump's Withdrawal From The Climate Accord Is Bad For America

President Donald Trump's announcement Thursday that he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement was both confused and misguided, and the justifications he provided were — at best — misleading, and for the most part, simply false.

Let's start with a few numbers. Trump blasted the accord because he said it would allow China to keep pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere but hamstring the American economy by forcing strict controls on our output. Today, China is the biggest greenhouse gas contributor, accounting for 30 percent of global emissions, while the United States emits roughly 14 percent. (The European Union follows closely behind at 10 percent.) However, when you look at cumulative emissions since 1850, America is responsible for 29 percent of the total while China accounts for eight percent....