Columbia Office of Sustainability says US withdrawing from Paris Agreement will not alter its plans
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
President Donald Trump signed more than 200 executive actions on his first day in office Monday. One of them directed the United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
The 2015 agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, and was signed by 194 states and the European Union in 2016. Trump previously pulled out of the deal during his first term.
"I'm immediately withdrawing from the unfair one-sided Paris climate accords rip off," Trump said on stage on Monday. "The United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity."
This will make the U.S. the only country not a part of the global pact. Libya, Yemen and Iran have signed the agreement but have yet to be ratified, according to CNN.
The City of Columbia Office of Sustainability said it has not been given new guidance.
“We haven't been notified of any changes to the support that we get or expect from the federal government,” Sustainability Manager Eric Hempel said.
Hempel said the office receives some funding and technical assistance from the federal government, but they do not rely solely on its resources.
Columbia's Climate Action and Adaptation Plan which lays out goals and strategizes how the city plans to address risks posed by climate change, was adopted in 2019 while the U.S. was not part of the Paris Agreement.
“Localizing the impact of the Paris Agreement, it is really important to remember that our climate action and adaptation plan is a plan that was built with our Columbia community context in mind," Hempel said. "We remain committed to our climate action adaptation plan as a community and as an organization.”
The CAAP also reduces community greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to minimize the amount of international outflow. Hempel said all partners contributing to the extent that it's able to is important to bringing climate change solutions.
“Ultimately the best way to solve a global issue is with a global agreement," Hempel said.
Columbia has already begun to experience the impacts of climate change, according to CAAP.
"And these observed changes are anticipated to worsen over time," CAAP says.
Hempel said the city is committed to environmental sustainability and it is with the support of the community that those efforts continue.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said it is evaluating any possible impacts.
"The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is evaluating how any changes in federal environmental policy may potentially impact state environmental and natural resource policy," DNR said in an email.
