The argument I recently heard or participated in was about whether or not the United States should remain part of the Paris Climate Agreement. The premise of this argument is that if the US pulls out of the agreement, it would create significant economic and environmental repercussions. The main conclusion is that it would be in America’s best interest to stay in the Paris Climate Agreement.

One of the premises supporting this argument is that staying in the agreement will help limit global temperature increases. The Paris Climate Agreement sets a goal for keeping global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100. By 2025, twenty-five percent of greenhouse gas emissions are supposed to be reduced from 2005 levels, with further reductions each decade until 2050 when carbon neutrality must be achieved. Meeting these goals will directly lead to slowing down climate change, which has already caused devastating damage around the world due to extreme weather events like floods and hurricanes. If we pulled out of the agreement, then those efforts could potentially be reversed and we could end up seeing even worse effects on our planet’s environment and its inhabitants over time due to lack of progress being made on curbing emissions growth rates.