Trump Gives Carbon Price Foes New Line of Attack

US President-elect Donald Trump described climate change as a “hoax” for US businesses and promised to repeal environmental regulations and to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. China has since offered the reminder that the United States supported UN deliberations on a warming planet during the Reagan administration well before China knew such negotiations were underway. Canada and other nations, hoping to stay competitive with energy pricing, consider walking back carbon-pricing plans and other steps to slow warming. “Trump's ‘election portends many things,’ says a senior Liberal, ‘but it doesn't change the law of science,’" warns Aaron Wherry for CBC News in Canada. “If one wagers that the world is still headed toward a low-carbon future, it would make sense to continue moving in that direction as a country.” Some countries will continue to develop alternative energies, hoping that early innovations could reduce emissons and boost competitiveness for the years ahead. Otherwise, future generations will be forced to shoulder the transition. China may rally as global leader on climate issues, or, as proposed by one candidate for French president, countries may seek to punish the United States with carbon tariffs. – YaleGlobal