If one would believe the extreme far-left politicians, celebrities and mainstream media, one would think that the world as we know it will soon cease to exist because President Trump pulled us out of the Paris Agreement. This narrative is totally and absolutely false.

The Paris Agreement was a truly bad deal—bad for American taxpayers, American energy companies and every single American who depends on affordable and reliable energy. It is also bad for the countries that remain in the agreement.

The Paris Agreement was costly and ineffective and would do close to nil to address climate change. It would have killed thousands of jobs, harmed American manufacturing and destroyed $2.5 trillion in gross domestic product by 2035.

The Agreement wasted taxpayer money. The $100 billion collected each year by 2020 could have gone to corrupt government-funded climate programs rather than to those who need it. Obama shipped $1 billion to this fund without authorization from Congress.

Withdrawal is a demonstration of leadership.

The media makes a big deal out of the fact that only Syria and Nicaragua do not participate in the Paris Agreement. That does not alter the fact that it is still a bad deal. Misery loves company, including North Korea and Iran, who signed the deal.

Withdrawal is good for American energy competitiveness. The best way for American energy companies to be competitive is to be innovative and competitive in the market place, not to build their business models around international agreements.

This applies to conventional fuel companies as well as renewable ones.

The Paris Agreement was an open door for future US administrations to regulate and spend hundreds of millions of dollars on international climate programs, just as the Obama administration did without any input from Congress. Thankfully, that door has been closed.