Paul Ryan's pandering to the anti-science extremists and conspiracy theorists in his party with an amendment designed to prevent the US from taking joint action with other countries on climate, would have some very nasty repercussions if it were to be passed into law.
Alarmed by the Ryan Amendment's far reaching implications members of the European Parliament from several US allies have sent a letter to the Congress urging them to remove the Ryan Amendment from the enabling TAA legislation that is part of the TPP package under consideration in congress, and it also would cover the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
EU politicians protest to Congress over climate exemption in TPP row
MEPs urge US lawmakers not to adopt amendment that would stop President Obama bargaining on climate change during international trade talks
Ryan’s provision was intended to appease rightwing members of his party, who claim that Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) plans are a backdoor way of expanding governmental action on immigration and climate without consulting Congress.
But EU representatives who want to take action on climate change say they cannot do it on their own.
“Our capacity for showing leadership together is enormous,” the MEPs wrote to US lawmakers on Friday, pointing out that US and EU together account for “over half of world trade”.
“You will be aware that the protection of the environment is a major priority for the people of Europe and the European parliament. Ruling out any action to protect the planet from global warming and climate change would deal a major blow to the prospects of reaching agreement on the TTIP which the parliament is due shortly to consider, and which we have been told should become a ‘gold standard’ for international trade agreements.”
“There is a real risk that our ability to set our own climate laws based on our own values will be made impossible,” the Green MEP Claude Turmes said at that time. “Both TTIP and Tisa are jeopardising European democracy.”
The main complaint raised by the MEPs is that the climate amendment would leave Obama powerless come December when he is set to take a leadership role at a United Nations climate change conference in Paris.
“Tackling climate change is essential for everybody’s prosperity,” the MEPs wrote to US Congress on Friday. “As the global community prepares for the UN climate conference in Paris this December we do not believe that it is anyone’s interests to be seeking to limit or restrict the scope for international agreements to help us make progress on addressing global warming and climate change.”
Bill Waren, a trade policy analyst with Friends of the Earth, called the climate provision “a cynical ploy to try and pass fast-track legislation at the cost of addressing climate change”.
Even without the extra silencing climate provision, Waren said, the TPP was set to wreak havoc on the environment.
Through deregulation the TPP would help facilitate fossil fuel companies’ business operations around the word, Waren said. Chevron and Exxon Mobil were two vocal advocates of the deal, he said.
Bill Warren makes an important point about how these trade agreements make taking action on climate more problematic. See:
We Can Act on Global Warming or We Can Have TPP But We Can't Do Both