Press Release

Statement from the Ohio Environmental Council on the Trump Administration’s plans to exit the Paris Climate Agreement

MJ Eckhouse, November 4, 2019

Columbus, OH — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced today that the U.S. will officially begin the process of withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord.

The following statement can be attributed in full, or in part, to Randi Leppla, Vice President of Energy Policy for the Ohio Environmental Council:

“President Trump’s short-sighted decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement removes American leadership, technology and innovation from solving the global climate change problem. Nothing about this decision helps to make America great. In fact, it is a dangerous move backward.

“President Trump continues to roll back critical environmental regulations that are designed to protect the health of our planet and our people. This includes the recent elimination of EPA’s methane rules which roll back critical federal oversight of the nation’s 850,000+ existing source oil and gas wells and will dramatically increase methane pollution, a harmful driver of climate change.

“Addressing the climate crisis is a problem that cannot wait. We need a President who is willing to lead on climate action instead of exiting critical climate agreements and gutting regulatory safeguards.”