Trump’s exit from Paris accord leaves the U.S. on the outside looking in

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that we will soon belong to a club of only three countries that are not part of the Paris climate agreement: Nicaragua, Syria, and the United States.

How did we get here, and what does this means for America?

President Trump made a lot of promises during his campaign that he’s been unable to deliver. This weighs on him.

He promised to ban all Muslims from entering the country, withdraw from NAFTA, get Mexico to pay for a border wall, declare China a currency manipulator, prosecute Hillary Clinton, renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal, reform the tax code, and move the American Embassy to Jerusalem.

He’s done none of these things. To his credit, he realized that some of these promises were poorly conceived (China is not a currency manipulator). Some of them he’s tried and failed (travel ban). On some he backed down (moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem).

Others turned out to be just plain impossible (Mexico will not pay for the wall).

Then along comes the Paris Climate Agreement — something that he actually can accomplish with the stroke of a pen.

It’s not clear exactly who he thinks wanted this.

Companies that spoke up over the past few months were unanimous in their desire to stay in the accord. Exxon drills for oil. Peabody mines coal. Dow makes chemicals. General Motors builds cars. Apple makes devices.

What do these job creators have in common? They all argued against abandoning the accord.

These companies see the future. Solar employs 30 percent more workers than coal. There are 1.2 million clean energy jobs in states that Trump won, and 2.6 million across the U.S.

What about the folks in the President’s own cabinet with real leadership experience? Rex Tillerson ran Exxon. James Mattis ran United States Central Command. Rick Perry ran the State of Texas.

They all said “stay.”

And seven out of 10 Americans wanted to stay – including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents. A majority of the constituents in the states that voted for President Trump (and of every state) opposed this move.

So what now? Well, nature abhors a vacuum. The leadership role which the United States vacated will be filled.

I got to spend a lot of time in China as a Department of Energy official. China is taking on this challenge. This is something I’ve seen with my own two eyes – the cranes and the shovels.

China has a plan to develop the next generation of clean energy technology and sell it right back to us. China is reducing emissions, and has overtaken the United States is the largest investor in renewable energy, $78.3 billion in 2016, 69 percent more than the United States.

It’s not just about economics. We have a moral imperative to address the impact that we will have on future generations.

I’ve spent a lot of time with scientists who work on this issue, but the experience that most influenced me was traveling to the Arctic Circle in Alaska and speaking with members of the indigenous communities. They know through oral history how the ice moved in the time of their ancestors, and they know what they see now.

This isn’t partisan bickering. They simply told me what they were seeing with their own eyes.

The challenge of climate can seem abstract and distant, but the time to act is now.

The world expects America to lead.

This is not what leadership looks like.

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Trump’s exit from Paris accord leaves the U.S. on the outside looking in."