Press Releases

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) released the following statement opposing H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, a bill that would prevent President Trump from withdrawing the United States from the Obama Administration’s expensive commitments under the Paris Climate Accord:

“The president pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord because the agreement did not meet the objectives of reducing carbon emissions, or accomplishing any reduction in projected global temperature changes. Instead, it placed the United States at a severe disadvantage economically by hamstringing our technological innovation while dramatically increasing the cost of energy production.

“Climate change is real, but the proposals put forward by Democrats, like the Green New Deal, are fiction. The reality is, America is already a global leader in pursuing cleaner production of energy and reducing carbon emissions–to the tune of approximately 10% over the past decade. Addressing climate change should include investing in longer battery life technologies, lowering barriers for solar cell innovation, and pursuing cleaner more cost-effective methods to use nuclear energy. I believe that we need to continue pursuing an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy that leads to a cleaner, less carbon dependent future without forcing Arkansas families to bear the burden of the flawed Paris Climate Accord."


Background:

(Courtesy of the House Energy and Commerce Committee) 
Between 2000 and 2014, the U.S. reduced emissions more than 18%. As stated by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in their Global Energy & CO2 Status Report: “In the United States, the emission reductions seen in 2017 were reversed, with an increase of 3.1% in CO2 emissions in 2018. Despite this increase, emissions in the United States remain around their 1990 levels, 14% and 800 metric tons of CO2 below their peak in 2000. This is the largest absolute decline among all countries since 2000.”

The Climate Action Tracker, a European consortium of research organizations, found that the participating nations’ commitments will not meet the temperature goals in the Paris Agreement. The European Climate Action Network, another think tank, reported last summer that all European Union countries are off target: No single country in Europe is performing sufficiently to meet Paris Agreement goals. And those that have been making the most progress on their promises, did not make large commitments in the first place.