Nashville Mayor Megan Barry announced she would be continuing the work of the Paris Climate Accord following President Trump's decision to pull the U.S. from the deal.
President Donald Trump announces withdrawal from Paris accord
Barry joined many cities Thursday afternoon that said they would continue fighting climate change in the wake of the President's announcement.
Before Trump made his announcement, business leaders and foreign heads-of-state began castigating the decision as a woeful abandonment of US leadership.
The Mayor released the following statement:
"The United States of America should be a global leader in addressing the dire impact of climate change on our civilization, and it is very disappointing that President Trump does not see that. As a member of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, I am committed to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, and working with corporations and citizens to do the same, even if the President is not. There's too much at stake for cities not to lead on this issue, and Nashville will."
If @POTUS won't lead on Climate Change, cities must. Working w/ @Mayor4Climate to do just that. #ParisAgreement https://t.co/KurB7iYZPP
— Megan Barry (@MayorMeganBarry) June 1, 2017
Following the decision, Elon Musk stepped down from his advisor role to the President.
Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2017
However, not everyone disagreed with the decision. Most Republicans applauded the action.
Congressman Diane Black supported the President's decision and released the following statement:
“I applaud President Trump's decisive action to reject the Paris climate change agreement, which was a bad deal for American families and businesses. Yet again, President Obama gave away the farm for a photo-op with Europe's most liberal leaders, signing a terrible agreement where most of the costs fell to the U.S. It's past time for an America-first energy policy to strengthen our security and grow our vibrant energy economy.”
Ketucky Senator and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told the New York Times he also thought it was a good move.
“I applaud President Trump and his administration for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration’s assault on domestic energy production and jobs," he said.
