Lucas: Rejoining Paris Agreement Isn’t the Solution to Climate Change

Washington, D.C. – House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) released a statement following President Biden’s executive order to recommit the U.S. to the Paris Agreement on climate change.

“As a farmer who has seen the effects of climate change first-hand, I believe we should address global greenhouse gas emissions and support clean American energy. The Paris Agreement is not the way to do that, however. It commits the U.S. to a tremendous financial burden while doing nothing to enforce greenhouse gas reductions by other participants. In fact, despite pledges to the Paris Agreement, emissions from China and India have continued to grow. Even worse, it was found that China significantly underreported its emissions in the lead-up to the agreement taking effect, making it hard to trust its current reports. The data is clear: while global emissions increased by nearly 24% between 2005 and 2018, U.S. emissions declined by 10% in that same time period. That’s especially impressive given that our economy continued to grow by 25%. Simply put: costly global pledges are not the path forward. Instead, we should be focusing on developing the tools needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, like advanced nuclear energy, carbon capture, and greater energy storage capacity. Investing in innovation has proven to reduce emissions, lower energy costs, and produce exportable technologies that other countries can use to meet these same objectives. This kind of research and development was a central focus of the bipartisan legislation, the Energy Act of 2020, signed into law last Congress, and it will continue to be my priority as we move forward.”

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