Senators Help Keep the Promise of the Paris Agreement Alive

If it passes, the bill would ensure that the United States honors its commitments in the landmark international climate accord.

Despite the Trump administration’s attempts to shut down climate action, members in Congress are moving forward. First was Climate Action Now Act, a bill approved by the House of Representatives that recommits the United States to the Paris Agreement. And yesterday, New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen and her colleagues introduced the International Climate Accountability Act, a companion to the House bill.

“The Paris Agreement remains the single-best international answer to the climate crisis,” says Rhea Suh, president of NRDC. “Senator Shaheen and allies are declaring, rightly, that we will keep the promise we made at Paris to cut our carbon pollution and accelerate clean energy.”

Like the House’s Climate Action Now Act, or H.R. 9, the Senate bill prevents the president from using funds to withdraw from the Paris Agreement—which every other nation on the planet has joined—and requires the administration to come up with a plan that details how the country will meet its Paris emissions targets. Since Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the agreement back in June 2017, not only have a states, cities, and corporations stepped up to stick to the Paris goals, but as many as 80 nations have said they would increase their commitment—ahead of schedule.

“Those who oppose this crucial climate action—including Senator Mitch McConnell and his big polluter backers—are condemning our kids, communities, and country to runaway climate costs and danger we know we can avoid," Suh says.