US Secretary of State Signs Arctic Climate “Affirmation”

[Valin]

Watts Up With That?

Eric Worrall

May 13 2017

 

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has signed a document presented at a meeting of Arctic nations, which affirms the need to support the Paris Agreement, and take action on Climate Change. In doing so, Tillerson may have harmed US Arctic energy exploration interests.

 

Tillerson, at Arctic meeting, signs document affirming need for action on climate change

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed his name Thursday to a document that affirms the need for international action against climate change, adding further uncertainty to the direction of climate policy under the Trump administration.

The document, signed by Tillerson and seven foreign ministers from Arctic nations meeting this week in Fairbanks, Alaska, says the participants concluded their meeting “noting the entry into force of the Paris agreement on climate change and its implementation, and reiterating the need for global action to reduce both long-lived greenhouse gases and short-lived climate pollutants.”

Called the Fairbanks Declaration, the document says the leaders signed it “recognizing that activities taking place outside the Arctic region, including activities occurring in Arctic states, are the main contributors to climate change effects and pollution in the Arctic, and underlining the need for action at all levels.”

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After vowing that the U.S. would “continue to be vigilant in protecting the fragile environment in the Arctic,” Tillerson said this about current U.S. climate policy:

“In the United States, we are currently reviewing several important policies, including how the Trump administration will approach the issue of climate change. We’re appreciative that each of you has an important point of view and you should know that we are taking the time to understand your concerns. We’re not going to rush to make a decision. We’re going to work to make the right decision,” he added, pausing ever so briefly before ending with the phrase, “for the United States.”

A video showed at the meeting before his remarks that was produced by the State Department referred to “ecological change,” not climate change.

 

(Snip)

 

While the Paris Treaty Agreement was never formally recognised as US Law, the advice of the White House counsel is that it could still impact the decisions of US courts when considering vexatious legal challenges to oil and gas drilling activities brought by environmental activists.

In my opinion, Rex Tillerson’s actions in signing the Fairbanks Declaration, with its affirmation of the need to take action to prevent climate change, and the need to support the Paris Agreement, likely worsens the legal environment for resource companies attempting to drill in the arctic, by providing additional ammunition for activist legal challenges.