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Trump to exit Paris climate accord in major blow to Obama’s legacy

President Trump is laying the groundwork for withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, launching a process that is likely to take some years.

An African voice would change priorities for the better

An African state with veto power in the UNSC would have much more leverage to get African positions listened to. This is something that is particularly important as Africa is the region that is most commonly on the UN agenda. An African permanent member would likely alter the priorities of the Council for the better. It would be the first UNSC member without nuclear weapons, indeed if it were South Africa it would be a state that had given up nuclear weapons so would be in favour of disarmament.[1] There might be more attempts to solve the ‘root causes’ of conflicts rather than just providing a response when a conflict breaks out as Rwanda promoted as president of the UNSC in 2013.[2] An African member might also be more interested in development issues, pushing on climate change etc. It would provide more of a view from the South. [1] Graham, Suzanne, ‘South Africa's UN General Assembly Voting Record from 2003 to 2008: Comparing India, Brazil and South Africa’, Politikon, Vol.38, No.3, 2011, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02589346.2011.623842#.UrQ0IeImZI0 [2] Kanyesigye, Frank, ‘Rwanda Sets Priorities for UNSC Presidency’, AllAfrica, 2 April 2013, http://allafrica.com/stories/201304020025.html

"Fixing the Climate" should be a Low Priority for the USA

Thank you for agreeing to the debate. ===We need to keep in mind the real choices before us=== Many people think that the climate choices are: A) fix the climate, Or B) head straight for the CATASTROPHE. In contrast, This CNN article (1) describes the real choices: B) best case, Hit the CATASTROPHE in 2100, Or C) real case, Hit the CATASTROPHE some few years later (can anyone tell me how long the delay will be? ) ===Let's review how the three options stack up=== If option A were really possible, Then maybe the USA could rationalize putting a lot of resources on it today. But since a slight delay in 80 years is all we can possibly achieve, The priority of necessity plummets. If we go ahead with option B, We will certainly need to spend resources on the CATASTROPHE. But, It will be to deal with the incremental consequences as they come (let"s call these incremental costs "P"). If we go ahead with option C, We will spend a lot of time and money to slightly delay the CATASTROPHE (let"s call these up front costs "Q"). Nevertheless, Once the delay expires, We will still have to spend the P costs. ===Now, I will conclude my Argument #1=== Every penny of the up front costs Q will be wasted. By definition, Q + P > P. Therefore, I recommend that we not spend Q. Source (1) links not working. The CNN article is called "Earth to warm 2 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, Studies say" with a dateline of July 31, 2017

Donald Trump ready to withdraw from Paris climate agreement, reports say

Donald Trump is poised to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, according to multiple reports on Wednesday, in a move that would profoundly undermine the landmark agreement by nearly 200 nations to curtail global warming.

How Trump is smashing Obama’s legacy with decision to exit Paris climate deal

President Trump is laying the groundwork this week to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, seeking options for how to extricate the U.S. in a process that could take years to complete.

Geoengineering is one part of larger climate fight

Jamais Cascio. "It's Time to Cool the Planet." Wall Street Journal. June 15th, 2009: "let's be clear about one other thing: We will still have to radically reduce carbon emissions, and do so quickly. We will still have to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, and adopt substantially more sustainable agricultural methods. We will still have to deal with the effects of ecosystems damaged by carbon overload. But what geoengineering can do is slow the increase in temperatures, delay potentially catastrophic 'tipping point' events such as a disastrous melting of the Arctic permafrost and give us time to make the changes to our economies and our societies necessary to end the climate disaster. Geoengineering, in other words, is simply a temporary 'stay of execution.' We will still have to work for a pardon."

Syria Vows To Sign Paris Agreement, Leaving U.S. Alone In Climate Denial

Syria took a break on Tuesday from its gruesome six-year civil war to announce plans to sign the Paris climate agreement, leaving the United States as the only country to reject the emissions-cutting deal.