Recently, Donald Trump, the President of the United States of America has announced that the U.S. will not follow the Paris Climate Agreement. Paris Climate Agreement is the treaty that 195 countries of the world promised to cut the emission of greenhouse gases with the aim of not raise the average temperature to 2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era. This agreement is the first treaty that all countries that are approved promised to cut the emission of greenhouse gases.

▲ Representatives from all over the world cut a deal in Paris

In November 2019, Donald Trump has announced that the U.S will not be going to follow the agreement due to economic reasons. This was an unexpected decision. The USA is the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world followed by China. Many critics proposed that as the USA is the second-largest emitter, but now after the treaty can be selfish thinking. It is a kind of contradiction that the USA is the richest country in the world.

Some other countries mentioned the worries if the U.S. doesn’t follow the treaty. If the second-largest emitter doesn’t follow the treaty, other countries might think it doesn’t matter if they don’t follow the aim. But China, the largest emitter, mentioned that they will follow the agreement, and Xi Jinping, the head of China, will make another agreement with France, which is about an environmental issue.

But the problem starts here. Though 194 countries follow the agreement and decrease the usage of fossil fuels to cut the emission of greenhouse gases, the USA will ruin the plan what was expected from the Paris Accord. It is hard to ignore that the USA is the second-largest emitter. But there is some hope. As the President Election in the U.S. in the next year, some candidates will go to follow the accord again, given that the U.S. will not going to follow from November 4th, 2020, the next day of the election.

The USA should think about the Earth, not just their country. For a sustainable society, all the countries all around the world should incorporate and endeavor for the aim of the Paris Accord.

By Kim Dowon