Economics Expert: Withdrawing From Paris Accord Will Have Little Impact

DALLAS (CBS11) - It was a decision met with fierce opposition among voters but also in political and corporate circles.

President Trump made good on his campaign promise to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord on Thursday.

"The rest of the world might literally put on some kind of a tariff and say we're embracing carbon pricing strategies," said Vicki Arroyo of the Georgetown University Climate Center.

Tesla's Elon Musk and former Vice Presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden fired off their displeasure on Twitter:

But economics professor Mike Davis at SMU's Cox School of Business said the decision will have little impact on business.

"To those viewing this as an apocalyptic event, take a deep breath," said Davis. "All the requirements were voluntary. Remember Paris wasn't ratified by the Senate. It's not a treaty, it's not law."

Davis insists climate change is a problem that needs to be addressed, he said the standards set by the Paris Agreement were expensive and would have hurt the average consumer with increased costs.

"I have a hard time believing we would have fulfilled the commitments we made in Paris," said Davis.

He believes the requirements agreed upon were too lofty and had zero plan of implementation.

"Somebody who's really obese can say, 'Well I'm just going to lose 100 pounds.' But if they don't have a clear idea of what that really means, it's kind of an empty promise."

As for the other countries still part of the deal like the EU and China, Davis said it will be difficult for those countries to live up to the standards set by the agreement.

"Let's not listen to what they say, let's watch what they do," said Davis.

In:
• Paris Climate Accord
• Economy
• Donald Trump