States can and should resist this administration

Ethan Martinous

Anchor Contributor

The world is changing and the Trump Administration is unbothered. As the Trump presidency enters its second year, many political issues are at the forefront of the minds of Americans. 

The issue of climate change has since taken a back seat. On Jan. 20 2025, the Trump Administration pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time. This decision has the potential to have widespread effects on climate change efforts worldwide. The Paris Climate agreement, without the resources and influence of the United States, will be an uphill battle. The impacts of the second Trump Administration pulling out of the agreement are still in the early stages of development but there is plenty of research on the first administration's actions.

The first Trump Administration pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement before President Biden reinstated the country’s place in it on the first day of his presidency. There are many lessons to be learned from this first withdrawal. In the American system, the federal government and lower governments have different responsibilities when it comes to policymaking. Generally, the federal government will create a policy measure that is to be implemented by the state and local governments. 

In the case of Trump’s first withdrawal from the Paris Climate agreement, state and local governments responded by resisting this federal measure. City governments across the country created policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to lessen the effects of climate change. This level of resistance of federal measures must continue in 2025 in response to the second withdrawal. 

Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement shows the administration’s further isolation from the world stage. After both the first and second withdrawals, there were fears that the United States’ withdrawal from the agreement would inspire other countries to follow, resulting in the agreement and the progress that it has made to break down. However, the member states composing 194 countries have recommitted to their focus on climate change. The withdrawal in 2025 also consisted of a withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC], a treaty that predates the Paris Climate Agreement. 

According to Somini Sengupta writing for the New York Times, some experts believe that in order for the US to rejoin the treaty, the Senate would have to re-ratify it; a process that could be near impossible given the current state of American politics. The US withdrawing has massive potential implications for America’s reputation on the world stage. Because of America’s status as an influential global power, the decision to withdraw from the agreement could reverse over a decade of progress made possible by the agreement. The expected rise in temperature over the next 80 years is down about one degree from pre-Paris Agreement projections. The temperature, while still expected to rise, is not expected to rise as much, showing the effectiveness of the agreement, and the commitment the countries have made to it. 

The blatant disregard for the future of the planet and the lack of cooperation with the rest of the world helps to shine light on the uniqueness of this administration. Americans need to be made aware that this is not how normal leadership would act or is acting. The example set forth by the other 194 leaders of the world show that America is an outlier when it comes to climate change. 

The administration’s commitment to the oil and gas industry has undermined the necessity to keep the planet habitable for future generations. The administration should be focused on committing to clean energy projects. By doing this the country’s leaving of the climate agreement would be somewhat warranted. America would be focusing on expanding its clean energy infrastructure, and not so much concerned with cooperation measures. 

This may have to be the course of action for the future administrations. The process of reinstating America’s place in the Paris Agreement may be next to impossible. However, that does not mean the future of American climate policy is a lost cause. State, local and future administrations can double down on the commitment to clean energy practices in order to reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions. 

There is still hope for progress towards a cleaner America; it may just take some resistance from smaller governments. America, however, is a country born on resistance, so there is hope that the states stand up to their oppressive leader just like how the country was founded 250 years ago.