The Trump administration鈥檚 formal withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate change has members of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative concerned. The organization is worried that the withdrawal could lead to U.S. commodities producers being taxed or penalized by countries that signed on to the accord, something that the European Union has signaled it would like to pursue.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have a seat at the table, you can鈥檛 make any decisions,鈥� said Phil Stang, the mayor of Kimmswick, Missouri. 鈥淭he Mississippi River basin is the biggest commodity developer in the world, and that鈥檚 a severe impact on the entire Midwest.鈥�
Thursday on St. Louis on the Air, host Sarah Fenske talked with Stang, as well as with the executive director of the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative, Colin Wellenkamp, about what leaving the accord could do to the competitiveness of Midwest commodity exports.
Hear their conversation:
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