ATLANTA -- Atlanta's Mayor Kasim Reed has promised to continue meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, despite President Trump's announcement that the United States would be withdrawing from the deal.
Trump, who had teased his decision on Twitter days ahead of the announcement, finally revealed the decision Monday afternoon in the Rose Garden. It comes more than a year-and-a-half after President Obama announced the United States would be joining a broad coalition of nations around the world committed to reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere.
In a statement, Reed said the "disappointing decision" to withdraw from the climate accord "isolates our country from international partners in shared, global efforts to curb climate change, and at its core is an assault on our future stability and prosperity."
Indeed, the United States now belongs to a small group of just three countries who remain opposed to the agreement. Syria and Nicaragua are the other two nations who have not signed on.
Despite the reversal, Reed said Atlanta would remain "committed to meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement." He said the city would intensify efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and continue to search for clean energy solutions. Read the full statement:
“The President has made a disappointing decision today to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, and by extension, global leadership. This decision isolates our country from international partners in shared, global efforts to curb climate change, and at its core is an assault on our future stability and prosperity.
Two years ago, I joined more than 100 mayors from around the world in Paris to demonstrate our support for the COP 21 negotiations. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry demonstrated genuine leadership as they committed the United States to actionable, meaningful and achievable goals to combat climate change and reduce harmful pollution.
Along with my colleagues from around the country and the world, I remain committed to meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. The City of Atlanta will intensify our efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, work to cool the planet by two degrees, ramp up clean energy solutions and seek every opportunity to assert our leadership on this urgent issue.”
Trump's decision to withdraw from the agreement, a campaign promise, has drawn criticism from both domestic and world leaders. It's also gotten praise, predictably along party lines.
In a short statement released by Barack Obama, the former president made it clear he would be counting on investors to "step up" and continuing on to a "low-carbon future already chosen by the private sector."
However, some of Georgia's own lawmakers, including Sen. David Perdue, supported President Trump's decision and called the climate agreement an "Obama-era overreach." Perdue said the withdrawal "is the next step in fulfilling President Trump's promise to rescind burdensome regulations."
