President Donald Trump's reported decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord would damage the international community's confidence in the United States, harm the environment, and hurt America's own economic growth, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal told CNN's "New Day" on Wednesday.
"If other countries lose confidence in our commitment to climate change, they may cut back their commitment. But equally importantly, they're going to fill the gap," Blumenthal said.
"China is now producing jobs and economic progress based on solar and wind investments. Other countries will similarly, in effect, create more jobs and surpass us in that kind of opportunistic, in a good sense, taking advantage of opportunities that exist that we have failed to fulfill."
Blumenthal added that this would be a shame, because the United States has "enormous opportunities in this area for job creation, for economic growth . . . if we invest, that's what we need to do."
Reports emerged on Wednesday that Trump would pull out of the agreement, something he promised to do during his presidential campaign. However, following the reports, Trump only said he will announce his decision in the coming days.
Blumenthal said staying in the accord is essential to an American "commitment to preserving the environment, clean air, and water, but most of all, saving the planet from the continuing effect of climate change and global warming."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.