'What he's seeking to do is bind the next president'
While the Obama administration trumpets a historic agreement on carbon emissions with China, a leading climate expert says the U.S. economy would have to collapse to comply with the terms of the deal, but President Obamas main goal is to make it difficult for the next president, Congress and the courts to strike down his many environmental regulations.
While in China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Summit, Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping came to an agreement that would have the U.S. reducing its carbon emissions between 26 and 28 percent from 2005 levels. The Chinese, meanwhile, vowed to try to peak their emissions by 2030 and attempt to get 20 percent of their energy from zero carbon emission sources by that same time.
As the deal was announced, Obamas Twitter account stated: This is huge: The United States and China have just agreed on an ambitious new joint plan to cut carbon pollution.
Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Christopher Horner said the deal means business as usual for China but would force the U.S. to make draconian changes over the next decade.
It promised massive reductions, which nobody knows how you could get to, barring serious economic collapse on the part of the U.S. This is even after the hydro-fracking boom. Even assuming you kill coal dead, nobody knows how you get to where hes talking about, which of course will be someone elses problem, Horner said. You sort of want to be on the other side of the negotiating table from people who view things like this as victories. It was hardly that.
Listen to the WND/Radio America interview with Christopher Horner:
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Horner believes handcuffing the next president is Obamas real motivation here.
What hes seeking to do is bind the next president and the next presidents (Environmental Protection Agency), this Congress and the courts to say, You know what? You really cant undo my EPA rules. Theyre now part of something larger. Theyre embedded in a promise to the world, and Id like the courts to recognize that, Horner explained. While it sounds crazy, its called customary international law, and theres always a chance.
Previous attempts to commit the U.S. to reduced carbon were soundly rejected in the 1990s, when the Clinton administration embraced the Kyoto Accords, but the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a non-binding vote warning Clinton and then-Vice President Al Gore that any such deal would be dead on arrival.
The Constitution states the Senate must ratify any proposed treaties with a two-thirds majority. Horner said Obamas plan is to declare that this agreement is not a treaty and is not subject to Senate approval.
This is probably the most intriguing and disturbing aspect of this, he said. For more than 20 years, the executive, no matter what party hes from, and the Senate have recognized that this is part of the treaty process. It needs to be part of the treaty process. We have a system, and this goes through it. Now that the treaty process makes it clear that they never would ratify such an agreement, the president said, This isnt a treaty. Next year wont be a treaty, simply because Im calling it not a treaty.
Horner added, What theyre doing is side-stepping the system. Hes side-stepped it without legislation to regulate, and now hes hoping to get a treaty by calling it not a treaty to avoid a loss in the Senate. Its very problematic.
However, just because Obama tries to contend its not an actual treaty doesnt mean thats how the Senate must see it.
Its a non-binding sense of the Senate resolution (he cant veto it) in response to a non-binding non-treaty, saying, Youre freelancing in a legally meaningless way. Youre not speaking for the United States, and no court or other country should take this as an expression of U.S. intent. That is the equivalent of the Senate saying, No, it is a treaty, Horner said.
If that were to happen, Horner is convinced the Senate would have much stronger legal ground than the president.
This desire to say, Look, weve embedded our rules in promises to the rest of the world falls apart because the Senate is saying, In fact, you didnt. You are not speaking on behalf of the United States. The Senate has a role in speaking on behalf of the United States under advice and consent. Were saying youre speaking without our word. You dont want our advice; you certainly dont get our consent, he said.
This strategy doesnt surprise Horner. Like the presidents unilateral approach to immigration policy, he said Obama is acting alone on climate policy despite the clear opposition of the American people.
This was an issue in a lot of campaigns, he said. [Billionaire environmental activist] Tom Steyer organized $85 million, which is almost teachers union money of $100 million to make climate what they called the winning issue this year. Those candidates all lost. Two survived. No candidate embraced the issue. They were doing this so the candidates wouldnt have to, and the voters rejected it.
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