Saturday, June 3, 2017

International Diplomacy and the #ParisAccord - Broader Environmental Policy Implications

People are wondering about DJT's decision to withdraw from the #ParisAccord, and its impact.  It is an international agreement signed by nearly 200 nations, and is not quite a treaty. Its overall impact, and the US decision to abrogate could be considered quite weak as a force for change.  But gravity is also a rather weak force as it turns out. Still impressive and given this discussion of scale, let's continue.

I've been privileged to work twice with the US State Department on science collaborations before (through the GLOBE Program), so I have some respect for international treaties, even if they are not often very effective. I have respect for treaties.  I am a geek when it comes to science and policy as it turns out.  I've been thinking about what it might mean for US diplomacy to withdraw from Paris.  Are there side effects?  There just could be.  I ended up with some unexpected spare time on my hands and so I did a little digging. You see the US is party to many different treaties and agreements that are related to the same types of issues.  Below you'll see a link to a draft document listing some of these that might relate to the USA's status and respect among the international community.  Just a first stab at it, but one that I hope is of interest to some.  There are also a few that the US has not adopted which are widely adopted.

Selected List of US Treaties and Agreements

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