Senator Ted Cruz repeated Donald Trump’s America-centered climate rhetoric when President Joe Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement on his first day in office.
Cruz, R-Texas, said in a tweet late Wednesday that Biden, by returning America to the multinational climate agreement, indicated that he was more interested “in the view of the citizens of Paris than in the work of the citizens of Pittsburgh.”
When Trump announced the US withdrawal from the agreement, the largest international effort to curb climate change, in 2017, he said, “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”
Trump said the deal was detrimental to the U.S. – part of its broader strategy to reduce restrictions on domestic oil, gas and coal producers. The US is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world behind China.
Cruz’s comments on Wednesday received criticism on Twitter, pointing users to the obvious: the Paris agreement is a multinational effort.
France was only one of the 196 participants committed to the 2015 agreement, which aims to keep the increase in average temperatures worldwide “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., responded in a tweet to Cruz, say: “Quick question: do you believe that the Geneva Convention is about the views of the citizens of Geneva?”
The Geneva Convention, a set of protocols governing armed conflict, originated in Geneva, Switzerland, but is recognized by almost every country in the world.
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Ocasio-Cortez has introduced a comprehensive policy resolution called “Green New Deal”, which calls for tackling climate change by shifting the US from fossil fuels in 2019, but it was defeated in the Senate.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto also responded to Cruz on Twitter, say: “Here we go again…”
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg clapped in an apparent reference to Cruz’s tweet: “So glad the U.S. finally rejoined the Pittsburgh agreement. Welcome back!”
Meanwhile, Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Also criticized Biden’s decision to rejoin the Paris Agreement, saying in a tweet it will cost U.S. jobs and ‘force households and small businesses to pay higher utility bills.’ It is not clear what the cost to the US of rejoining the agreement would be – if so – for Americans, or how it would affect utility bills.
Biden’s accession to the Paris Agreement marks the beginning of a major US policy reversal on the international stage, but he is already facing a home run.
Moments after Biden signed an executive order to rejoin the agreement on Wednesday, a group of Republican senators called on Biden to submit his plan to involve the U.S. back in the agreement to lawmakers. for ‘review and consideration’.
The senators’ move reflects the deep-seated political divisions over climate policy that could hamper Biden’s $ 2 trillion ambitious climate plan.
Reuters contributed to this report.
