One of the ways to do that would be to add the COP21 Paris Agreement to the list of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to which parties must adhere and enforce. This would be clearly contrary to the policy position of the Trump Administration in the U.S.
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RSSCALGARY, Canada (PRWEB) June 14, 2018
The Trump-Trudeau tiff over G7, that is now the subject of much public commentary, as reported by the New York Times on June 9, 2018, is set on a backdrop of a provocative climate change deal made by Canada with France, says Friends of Science Society.
While Canada likes to frame itself as a climate leader, its largest trading partner, the United States, has pulled out of the Paris Agreement and is rapidly dismantling most of the Obama-era climate policies. During NAFTA negotiations with the USA, Canada signed a climate and culture deal with France, as reported by the Prime Minister’s office on April 16, 2018.
Friends of Science Society sees this as an attempt to reconquer “New France: The Carbon Conquest?” in this blog post of Arpil 29, 2018.
France had previously vowed to block US trade with the EU unless President Trump relented and returned to the Paris Agreement, as reported by Forbes on Feb. 8, 2018, Consequently, it could be perceived that Canadians are being duplicitous in their approach to the US, their largest trading partner, by trying to curry favor with France and perhaps acting as a proxy for French interests. Many of Canada’s largest and most powerful corporations, located in the east, also have headquarters in France and investments across Europe.
According to a June 9, 2017, blog post entitled “COP-21 Paris Agreement - Just the Facts” written by former diplomat and public servant, Robert Lyman, the Paris Agreement is entirely voluntary in nature and not legally binding in any way.
Lyman noted in another commentary “NAFTA and the Environment - Strange Brew” of Dec. 12, 2017, on the Canada-USA NAFTA negotiations that: “According to a report by Barbora Grochalova of the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais in October 2017, the officials stated that they wanted to see climate action specifically included in NAFTA. One of the ways to do that would be to add the COP21 Paris Agreement to the list of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to which parties must adhere and enforce. This would be clearly contrary to the policy position of the Trump Administration in the U.S., and it is unclear what it would mean in practice. “ LINK: blog.friendsofscience.org/2017/10/12/nafta-and-the-environment-strange-brew/
One month prior to the election of President Trump, France unilaterally instituted a trade barrier, calling for a 2 degree C rule for all its investees. The rule is based on the ESG – Environment, Social, Governance policies of the unelected, unaccountable transnational organizations – the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and the Rockefeller charity, CDP Worldwide. LINK: frenchsif.org/isr-esg/wp-content/uploads/Understanding_article173-French_SIF_Handbook.pdf
Clearly none of these measures are in keeping with American policy which is focussed on establishing itself as an energy superpower, protecting national interests, reducing non-essential climate/GHG reporting requirements of companies, and returning to a focus on noxious pollutants for regulation. Climate risk, carbon taxes, gender issues or any of the more ethereal ‘strange brew’ advocated for by Prime Minister Trudeau in NAFTA are not in keeping with US policy.
Furthermore, based on Dr. Judith Curry’s presentation at the Spilman Forum on June 12, 2018, it seems the Paris Agreement is not founded on ‘settled’ or solid science.
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Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens who are celebrating its 16th year of offering climate science insights. After a thorough review of a broad spectrum of literature on climate change, Friends of Science Society has concluded that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2).
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