Boykoff: Cowering from cooperation, pushing towards a pariah state
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
Boykoff frames withdrawal from the UN climate framework as childish “denial,” as if the only adult posture is signing whatever agreement international bureaucracies put on the table. That’s a familiar move: treat dissent as ignorance, then declare the debate over. But conservatives aren’t allergic to science.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
The United States' withdrawal from the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an example of the Trump administration exhibiting a literal denial of scientific evidence of a changing climate, as though Trump is putting his hands over his ears like a child unwilling to accept what is happening.
After all, he did resort to calling climate change a “con job” as he sought to avoid the facts.
Original source:
Read at Boulder Daily CameraHow We See It
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Boykoff frames withdrawal from the UN climate framework as childish “denial,” as if the only adult posture is signing whatever agreement international bureaucracies put on the table. That’s a familiar move: treat dissent as ignorance, then declare the debate over.
But conservatives aren’t allergic to science. We’re wary of turning contested forecasts into permanent mandates that outlast elections and bind Americans to rules written abroad. The question is not whether the climate changes, but whether UN processes deliver accountable policy or simply outsource decisions to institutions with little stake in our costs.
A serious approach starts with national sovereignty, energy security, and public trust. If a deal can’t show transparent benefits, enforceable standards for major emitters, and respect for American workers, it isn’t cooperation, it’s compliance.
The principle at stake is self-government: policies with real tradeoffs should be debated and decided here, not moralized into submission.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.