Paris climate accord

Compared to other developed nations, the United States would feel little impact from climate mitigation efforts modeled on the Paris accord, said two Purdue University researchers on Thursday.

The inspector general’s office at the EPA will investigate an April meeting between EPA administrator Scott Pruitt and the National Mining Association, said The Hill newspaper.

According to a UN report, 2017 is on track to be one of the three hottest years on record. The cause, it says, is climate change, which the report implicates in “extraordinary weather,” including extreme hurricanes, floods, and droughts.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has extended the state’s climate plan for another decade by signing into law a bundle of bills meant to lower greenhouse-gas emissions. “The legislation puts California at the forefront of plans by mostly Democratic governors to reduce carbon emissions and adhere to the goals of the Paris climate change accord after Republican President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the pact,” says Reuters.

The U.S. stood alone at the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, as all the other countries, including China and the European Union, called on the Trump administration to address climate change.

EPA chief Scott Pruitt, who advocated U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, left Italy after a few hours of a two-day meeting of environment ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy industrialized nations.