Paris Climate Deal Gets Mixed Reception Back In Wisconsin

The climate change agreement announced over the weekend in Paris has reheated the political debate in Wisconsin.

International negotiators got nearly 200 nations to commit to slow global warming, but some efforts will be voluntary and some penalties for compliance failures remain unclear. Still, longtime Milwaukee environmental activist Gregory Bird said he believes the deal will spur cleaner energy alternatives.

“It’s going to displace dirty, toxic, fossil-fuel-burning, thermal-type technologies,” Bird said.

Jonah Herman of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters said the Paris agreement is all the more reason to support President Barack Obama’s plan to cut greenhouse gases from coal-burning power plants.

“Making sure that the United States continues to be a leader around the planet,” he said.

But U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, an outspoken critic of Obama’s Clean Power plan said the president must tell American taxpayers their possible share of the Paris agreement’s $100 billion fund aimed at curbing emissions in developing countries.

From a statement released by Johnson:

“News media are reporting that the deal reached in Paris will force taxpayers in the developed world to send $100 billion every year to developing countries. President Obama must explain to Americans what he intends their share of this bill to be and how this money will be spent. He must also submit his funding request to the people’s representatives for their approval before sending billions of taxpayer dollars to foreign governments.”