Republicans seek to kill Paris climate agreement
US lawmakers from the Republican Party are running out of ways to undermine the White House’s commitment to a global agreement on the reduction of climate change negotiated in Paris.
Republicans in Congress acknowledge that they won't get a vote against the international climate accord, which they vehemently oppose.
Republicans had vowed to block any US contribution to the Green Climate Fund, an international pool of public and private money directed to help poorer nations prepare for climate change.
But the $1.1 trillion government spending deal passed by Congress this week allows Obama to find climate funding elsewhere in the federal budget, effectively taking the matter out of Congress’ hands.
The Green Climate Fund wasn’t appropriated any money, but green groups expect Obama to shift funding from other discretionary spending accounts to fill in the gap.
Senator Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma and the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said Republicans could look to formally block that type of maneuver next year.
"Congress has an oversight mechanism, should the State Department choose to move money around," Inhofe said. "Whatever funds are offered up for reprogramming purposes will be cut in the next round of appropriations, since they are clearly superfluous."
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP 21, was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015.
During the conference, Obama acknowledged that the United States is at least partly to blame for the life-threatening climate change and urged world leaders to reach a landmark deal to counter the threat before it dooms the planet.
The US is the second largest source of carbon dioxide emissions after China.
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