This letter appeared in the Monday, June 5, 2017, Financial Times (web edition June 4).

From Janet Tavakoli, Chicago, IL, US

June 4, 2017

Sir, Demetri Sevastopulo seems to believe that in withdrawing from the misnamed Paris climate accord, the US opposes “the global effort to combat climate change.” (“Trump Takes US out of Paris climate deal”, June 2). That’s hardly the case, but elections have consequences.

The Paris accord was a bad deal for the US, and it was a bad deal for combating adverse environmental change. For example, industrial polluter China virtually got a free pass, while the US was slapped with unrealistic targets. There is a lot of room for equitable renegotiation.

Our Senate was circumvented by the Obama administration’s pen, because it would never have approved the Paris accord. The accord was not a law, and it was not a treaty. Leaders of other nations know this, and they have no standing to object now that President Donald Trump wants to negotiate a fair deal.

I suspect some of their consternation has to do with the fact that the former president committed $3bn to the Green Climate Fund without bothering with authority from Congress and the fiscal accountability that would have entailed.

The Trump administration correctly calls it a UN slush fund.

The US is a sovereign nation. We are bound by our constitution and laws and treaties approved by Congress. The next time we go to the negotiating table, we’ll insist on fairness, accountability and a deal that will pass the scrutiny of our elected representatives.

Janet Tavakoli President, Tavakoli Structured Finance, Chicago, IL, US

Click here for May 12, 2017, status of the Green Climate Fund aka U.N. slush fund.