Earlier this week, President Donald Trump made the controversial decision to have the United States exit the Paris climate accord, causing outrage among environmentalists in the process. But for…<\/b>
\nEarlier this week, President Donald Trump made the controversial decision to have the United States exit the Paris climate accord, causing outrage among environmentalists in the process. But for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, leaving the Paris accord is the right thing for the U. S. to do at this point, as it could help create more jobs while being in people\u2019s best interests.
Speaking at a media briefing Sunday morning, former Oklahoma attorney general Pruitt expressed his thoughts on the President\u2019s decision, telling Fox News\u2019 Chris Wallace that former President Barack Obama\u2019s decision to join the Paris climate accord was a \u201cbad deal\u201d despite what others had said about the move.
The Washington Post noted that Scott Pruitt\u2019s comments on the Paris accord didn\u2019 t come as a surprise, as he has long been seen as a \u201chuge influencer\u201d behind Trump\u2019s recent move to pull out of the agreement, and as being instrumental in reversing a lot of the Obama administration\u2019s previous environmental reforms.
A report from Business Insider took a similar look at Pruitt\u2019s comments at Sunday\u2019s media briefing, where Wallace suggested at one point that the EPA head may be \u201cfocusing on the wrong thing, \u201d and doing something akin to protecting an outdated business, such as the \u201chorse and buggy business, \u201d just as a newer form of technology, such as automobiles, are becoming in vogue.
When confronted by this analogy, Scott Pruitt defended the Paris pullout, saying that America needs coal and other related materials to address the need for electricity, even if it requires the use of fossil fuels deemed dangerous to our environment.
One key aspect of Chris Wallace\u2019s questioning was how the Fox host wanted Pruitt to confirm or deny whether he believes that his boss, the President, is a climate change doubter, as many had insinuated in the past. The Washington Post and Business Insider both hinted that Pruitt seemed to dance around the topic, wanting to focus instead on what he sees are the positive implications of exiting the Paris climate accord, and adding that the U. S. had dramatically reduced carbon emissions over the last two decades.
The EPA head also told ABC\u2019s George Stephanopoulos that such questions are \u201coff the point, \u201d and distracting from what he believes is the true issue \u2014 as Scott Pruitt sees it, the Paris climate accord cost a lot of Americans their jobs.
In the aftermath of Donald Trump\u2019s announcement that the U. S. is leaving the Paris agreement, environmental advocates, including former Vice President Al Gore, have been very vocal about what they feel is a bad move on America\u2019s part. According to Politico, Gore referred to the decision as a \u201c reckless \u201d one, telling CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper that it could have broader significance in the world\u2019s quest to solve the climate change problem.
Do you agree or disagree with Scott Pruitt\u2019s Paris climate accord comments? Do you think that the U. S. exiting the deal could stimulate the country\u2019s economy going forward, or are you more concerned about the environmental implications that may follow this decision?
[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images]<\/p>\n

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