Well, at least there’s one bit of good news in President Trump’s announced withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords. Trump did not deny the reality or existence, or even the severity, of AGW, which puts his position somewhat to the left of some of our own Zone denialists. His objections were based solely on Trumpian economic and political considerations, not scientific ones; you know, “The US is a victim of a sordid conspiracy of foreign nations and domestic traitors determined to wreck the US economy and deliver American jobs and wealth to foreign governments. Thanks Obama.” I paraphrase, of course, but that’s essentially what he said. Much of the rest of his address seemed to be obsessed with the paranoid fear that others are “laughing at us”. Well, he may have a point there. If they weren’t laughing before, they certainly are now.

So I suppose that’s some progress. If there is an abrupt swing in public opinion among his supporters due to some obvious climatological catastrophe, or if he is otherwise forced by other, unforeseen circumstances to make an about-face on the issue, he has left himself an “out”. He can always say; “Yes, I always knew there was climate change, its just that the solution to the problem was economically unfair to America.”
And he still has the opportunity to blame the problem on a “lack of leadership” of “the Democrats and the previous administration.”

Defense in depth–second line trench.