World better off without US in global climate agreement - ANU expert

Having the US remain under the Paris Agreement would reveal the weaknesses of the agreement, prevent new opportunities from emerging, and gift greater leverage to a recalcitrant administration. An ANU climate policy expert says the world would be better off if the US withdraws from the global climate agreement finalised in Paris last year. The White House has said it is close to a decision on whether the US will remain in the Paris Agreement on climate change. In a commentary published , Dr Luke Kemp from the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society said a rogue US can cause more damage inside rather than outside of the global agreement. "Having the US remain under the Paris Agreement would reveal the weaknesses of the agreement, prevent new opportunities from emerging, and gift greater leverage to a recalcitrant administration," he said. Dr Kemp said continued US membership in the global agreement on climate change would be symbolic and have no effect on US emissions. "The Paris Agreement is procedural: it requires a new pledge every five years, but doesn't limit the actions of the US," he said.