EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Calls the Paris Agreement a ‘Bad Deal’

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt lambasted the Paris Agreement on Sunday, calling it a “bad deal.”

The Paris Agreement is an international agreement to reduce carbon emissions.

Pruitt criticized the Paris Agreement, saying that countries such as China and India receive more favorable treatment compared to western nations. He said, “You know, what was wrong with Paris was not just that it was, you know, failed to be treated as a treaty, but China and India, the largest producers of CO2 internationally, got away scot-free.”

He continued, “They didn’t have to take steps until 2030. So we’ve penalized ourselves through lost jobs while China and India didn’t take steps to address the issue internationally.”

Pruitt summarized the Paris Agreement, saying, “So Paris was just a bad deal, in my estimation.”

The EPA administrator said that he will focus on “getting things right here domestically and making sure we operate within the framework of the Clean Air Act.”

Pruitt previewed an executive order that the President will sign on Tuesday that unravels the Clean Power Plan and rebalances the interests between environmentalism and economic growth. He said that “the president is keeping his promise to the American people this week with respect to the executive order coming down on Tuesday – the energy independence executive order. We need a pro-growth and pro-environment approach for how we do regulations in this country.

“For too long, we have accepted a narrative that if you’re pro-growth, pro-jobs, you’re anti-environment. That’s not where we have been as a country. We have made tremendous progress on our environment, we can be both pro-jobs and pro-environment. The executive order will address the past administration’s effort to kill jobs throughout the country through the Clean Power Plan.”