Video: Protesters Speak Out on Paris Climate Accord Exit<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\nThree protesters gathered outside the building holding signs regarding climate change in Alaska.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here to remind Lisa that the future of oil is very grim. We need to transition into a renewable energy future,\u201d said Suzanne Cohen, a local acupuncturist. \u201cWe have to get proactive for Alaska\u2019s economy and start coming up with some really good ideas for how we\u2019re going to bridge. Because we can\u2019t continue to burn what\u2019s in the ground and expect to have a livable climate. We can\u2019t. And the science is there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murkowski discussed her \u201cagnostic\u201d approach to the president\u2019s decision and the issue of climate change, emphasizing the need to balance Alaska\u2019s oil economy while also protecting the environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to be looking to how we are ensuring that we are good stewards for the land around us while at the same time providing jobs and an economy for the people that live and work and raise their family there,\u201d Murkowski said.<\/p>\n
During his announcement earlier that morning, Trump discussed the possibility of a renegotiation of the agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not entirely sure what that means,\u201d Murkowski said of the President\u2019s comment. \u201cThat to me seems incredibly difficult. You have 160 nations that are already signed that are moving forward with the commitments that they have made. I don\u2019t know how we come in as the holdout as I understand it \u2026 how we renegotiate it. I don\u2019t think we have that kind of leverage quite honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The senator\u2019s focus rested on the global position of the U.S. and possible \u201cdiplomatic repercussions\u201d this withdrawal could cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think that exiting has the potential for ramifications for us in terms of a leadership role, in terms of how others view our commitment to our environment,\u201d Murkowski said. \u201cI think that what we ought to look to is how the United States can best leverage itself as a world leader in advancing priorities that are important not only to our country but to the world at large \u2026 if you stay in you have greater leverage ability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murkowski noted Alaska\u2019s unique role in climate change response, referencing several Alaskan communities like Shishmaref that are experiencing rapid erosion, threatening a coastal lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hope is that with the president\u2019s decision to go this route, it does not mean that fall back as a nation on our efforts to address and mitigate the impacts we see from a warming climate,\u201d Murkowski said. \u201cBecause we see it here in the state and it is real and we\u2019ve got an obligation to help address it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2022 Erin Granger is an intern for the Juneau Empire. Contact her at eringranger93@gmail.com.<\/b><\/p>\n
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Less than an hour after President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement on Thursday morning, protesters gathered outside the Moose Lodge. They were there to picket U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski\u2019s appearance at the lodge, where she gave a presentation called \u201cUpdate from D.C.\u201d at the weekly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":7070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-7069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7069"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=7069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}