Kerry Says Paris Agreement Crafted to Avoid Congress

Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday the climate agreement reached this week in Paris did not contain any enforcement provisions because Congress would not have approved them.

“It doesn’t have mandatory targets for reduction and it doesn’t have an enforcement, compliance mechanism,” Kerry said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”

Kerry said such mechanisms were not included because Congress would have refused to greenlight the deal.

Binding legal requirements would have made the Paris agreement a treaty, requiring approval from two-thirds of the Senate. Because no climate change measure could close to the high bar in the chamber, the Paris deal was written to avoid it.

Kerry also said he hopes the climate agreement will send “a very powerful message to the marketplace” about where they should place their energy investments. (Read more from “Kerry Says Paris Agreement Crafted to Avoid Congress” HERE)

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