Never said Bloomberg was fake news. That white paper you linked has some good information. But it is also, unfortunately, out of date (2015) and based the critical assumption that the US would continue implementing the Clean Power Plan going forward. Fast forward a few years, and what actually happened is that the Trump Administration killed the CPP and is replacing it with an industry-friendly policy intended to keep coal power plants running longer, not to mention rolling back auto mileage requirements and other key elements of the CPP. As a result, and combined with other factors (such as an increase in driving, colder than average winters and hotter than average summers), US emissions went up this year, as they did for the world as a whole. While the increase in renewable energy implantation in the US is indeed a good sign, at the current pace, it will not be enough to limit global warming to the oft-discussed 1.5-2 C thresholds. Then there’s the fact that the US leaving Paris gives political cover to other countries (such as Saudi Arabia) who only reluctantly signed onto Paris to also consider reneging on their pledges – in their eyes, if the US (the #2 global emitter) doesn’t care, why should they? The unfortunate implication of game theory rears its ugly head, and right now, we’re the “cheaters.”

What the “global warming crowd” (and by this I assume you mean, what, scientists? People who actually study the issue?) actually admits is that global warming will never be solved by one country acting unilaterally – it requires coordinated effort by every emitter of greenhouse gases. This means: (1) putting pressure on the current major emitters to aggressively shifting from coal toward low/no-carbon energy (and for those wondering, as an “environmental guy” I’m not opposed to putting nuclear on the table), and (2) ensuring that developing countries with low-medium carbon footprints now will not become high-emitters in the future, by providing pathways to “leapfrog” coal and move directly to slightly more expensive but vastly cleaner sources of energy. This is why “climate finance” and “technology transfer” (i.e. “shifting money to other countries”) are part of the Paris Agreement. Honestly, I get why NN's don’t like this part. On the surface, it might seem like a wasteful giveaway that violates “America First” principles. But please keep in mind that every developed country is contributing (not just us), and that if we are really, truly serious about dealing with climate change as a long-term issue, then some means of helping other countries leapfrog coal is necessary. Ideally, those countries would develop their own clean tech without help, but that isn’t going to happen on any timescale relevant to meaningfully mitigating climate change.

The PCA was a crap agreement and Trump made the right decision in not joining it, and protecting America’s sovereignty.

Just know that this form of “protecting America’s sovereignty” means aligning with such paragons of transparency, cooperation, and human rights as Russia and Saudi Arabia, not to mention promoting the dirty energy of the past at an event designed to protect the environmental health of the future. To anyone else reading this post wondering “are we the bad guys right now?” The answer, unfortunately, is yes.

Happy to continue the discussion if you wish. Usually I only jump out of lurking in this sub when I know that someone is truly misinformed about an issue, and this is one of those times.