In a released statement, Congressman French Hill said that climate change is real but Democratic proposals like the Green New Deal are "fiction."
Congressman Hill's statements are in reference to the Climate Action Now Act, a bill preventing President Donald Trump from withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement.
“The president pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord because the agreement did not meet the objectives of reducing carbon emissions, or accomplishing any reduction in projected global temperature changes,” the congressman said.
Every country in the world besides the United States under the Trump administration have made a commitment under the Paris Agreement to reduce the carbon emissions within their country.
Congressman Hill went on to say that the Paris Climate Agreement “placed the United States at a severe disadvantage economically by hamstringing our technological innovation while dramatically increasing the cost of energy production.”
The Paris Climate Agreement, which was launched in November 2016, required the U.S. to cut its emissions by at least 26 percent by 2025.
“Climate change is real, but the proposals put forward by Democrats, like the Green New Deal, are fiction,” the congressman said in the release.
Rep. French Hill’s perspective is that the commitments America would make under the Paris Agreement aren’t necessary. “America is already a global leader in pursuing cleaner production of energy and reducing carbon emissions–to the tune of approximately 10% over the past decade.”
Instead, according to Congressman Hill, addressing climate change should include investing in technology that has longer battery life, making solar cell innovation more attainable, and pursuing cleaner and more cost-effective methods to use nuclear energy.