Biden's Inauguration Day Faces Crisis... Concerns Over Setbacks in Returning to the Paris Climate Change Agreement

Trump Ally Urges Senate Approval for Paris Climate Agreement
Plan to Rejoin via Executive Order Faces Major Setback
Senate Ratification Required, Making Paris Agreement Harder to Pass
Trump Grants Mass Pardons to 20 People

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The plan of US President-elect Joe Biden, who promised to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement on his first day in office, is facing a crisis.

A structure is being erected on the 9th (local time) in front of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, for the upcoming presidential inauguration ceremony. [Image source=Yonhap News]

US President Donald Trump has requested the Senate to ratify the Paris Climate Agreement and the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), casting a shadow over Biden’s plan to rejoin via executive order.

According to the US political website RealClearPolitics (RCP) on the 22nd (local time), Republican Senator Ted Cruz sent a letter to President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanding that the Paris Climate Agreement and JCPOA ratification proposals be submitted to the Senate. If President Trump accepts Senator Cruz’s proposal and submits the Paris Climate Agreement for Senate ratification, President-elect Biden will be forced to follow the congressional ratification process instead of using an executive order to rejoin the agreement.

According to the letter obtained by RCP, Senator Cruz stated, "The Trump administration changed the direction of US policy by declaring withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and JCPOA, which was a tremendous achievement for the American people," and urged, "to submit the Paris Climate Agreement and JCPOA to Congress as treaties." He added, "By doing so, the damage to the separation of powers can be remedied, and the constitutional role can be fulfilled by allowing advice and consent when the next administration attempts to revive dangerous deals."

Nominally, their claim is to respect Congress’s treaty ratification authority to provide checks and balances on the executive branch. However, in reality, the goal is to make issues decided by President Trump’s executive orders require congressional ratification. This is to prevent the Biden administration from reversing policies through executive orders as Trump did. A congressional aide said, "Sending the ratification proposals for the Paris Climate Agreement and JCPOA to the Senate is like driving the last nail into the coffin." Considering that both the Republican and Democratic parties hold about half of the seats each, ratification related to the Paris Climate Agreement or JCPOA, where the two parties’ positions sharply differ, is nearly impossible. Ratification requires the support of two-thirds of the senators.

The Paris Climate Agreement centers on global efforts to limit the rise in average global temperature to within 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100. President Trump withdrew, labeling climate change a hoax. The JCPOA, which permits Iran’s peaceful nuclear development but prohibits weaponization, was joined during the Obama administration but was withdrawn from by President Trump. Trump argued that the JCPOA alone could not prevent Iran’s nuclear weapons development and demanded stronger measures. In contrast, President-elect Biden has stated that if Iran complies with the agreement made during the Obama administration, sanctions will be lifted and the US will rejoin the JCPOA.

Within the US, there are concerns that President Trump may focus on undermining the next administration during his remaining term. CNN aired an analysis suggesting that Trump could actively obstruct or passively neglect duties to cause trouble for the incoming administration.

Reports indicate that recent people President Trump has met include figures like former White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who mentioned martial law, and attorney Sidney Powell, who spreads various election fraud conspiracy theories. On this day, President Trump decided to pardon 20 people, including close aide George Papadopoulos, former foreign policy advisor to the presidential campaign, who was convicted in the Russia election interference scandal. As his term nears its end, President Trump continues to announce pardons for his close associates.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.