The Paris Climate Accord signed in 2015 and ratified by nearly every country in the world promised to bring global #carbonemissions down to pre-industrial levels and save our planet. President Obama unilaterally signed the US into this treaty where it must commit $100 billion into a Green Fund for poor countries. But that's not all, it must also cut down emissions, regulate Big Oil, and fund renewables to keep up with the US energy output.

However, as lofty as the goals of this agreement were, it is all fluff and words and has even been weakened by poor enforcement and appeal on the international level.

The exact wordings make no tangible and actionable efforts in making sure countries abide by the rules of capping carbon emissions. The agreement talks about ‘good faith’ in cooperation, but that hardly works does it?

The agreement simply handicaps Western nations in energy output while countries like China and Russia continue to pollute the #environment. China remains the biggest polluter on the planet. It has used cheap energy sources like coal and oil to grow its economy at the cost of its environment.

China therefore then systematically evades international enforcement policies, stressing the need for sovereignty and the need to retain markets in the oil and gas industry. With the tussle over global leadership, the oil and gas sector becomes important in the silent struggle for world wide power and influence.

Furthermore, cheating exists unchecked in the Paris agreement. Analysts posit that the participants of this agreement really do not have enforceable mechanisms in place. Countries that even default in contributions and commitments have very little, or even no evident tangible sanctions.

In a global challenge where the biggest polluters are not punished for such negligence, how would such agreement produce the expected outcome? This ultimately hurts the environment that everyone collectively benefits from – even third world countries that have no stake in such nefarious practices.

In conclusion, any policy that lacks enforcement and punishment for defaulters is as good as “no policy”. This is exactly what the Paris Agreement represents. Its major member parties all want a stake in the Oil and Gas sector and so no one wants to save the environment for the world. As such, the U.S. should stay far away from any involvement in the Paris Climate Agreement.