The Paris agreement’s nosedive has been expedited by the growing skepticism about man-made global warming.

However, the most significant threat to the agreement has come from countries that refuse to quench their addiction to coal.  Among them is the largest consumer of coal: China.

China’s continued defiance of the anti-coal establishment has dealt a lethal blow to the future prospects of the Paris agreement. Here are some key indicators from China which suggest that the chance of a comeback for the Paris agreement is slim to none.

China’s Significance to the Paris Agreement

The Paris agreement is the United Nations’ flagship climate agreement that originally came into effect in 2015. Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the agreement served as the first blow to the agreement.…

“I can’t see either of these papers being in the next IPCC report. Kevin [Trenberth] and I will keep them out somehow, even if we have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!”

 –  Phil Jones, Director of the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Climategate e-mail, July 8, 2004)

“[Climate change is] a very complex subject. I’m not sure anybody is ever going to really know…. they say they have science on one side but then they also have those horrible emails that were sent between the [Climategate] scientists…. Terrible. Where they got caught, you know. So you see that and you say, what’s this all about. I absolutely have an open mind.”

 – President-elect Donald Trump (November 23, 2016)

The assumptions and outcomes of the physical science of climate change are open for wide debate.…

“Energy is the lifeblood our society. It doesn’t just fuel our cars and power our homes, but it connects us to one another and makes our lives healthier, safer, and more fulfilling. However, recent policies are leading to rising energy costs – and African Americans are disproportionately hurt. Low income families pay a greater share of their income on utilities in some cases as much as 35%.”

 – Derrick Hollie, Reaching America. Quoted in DeSmogBlog, “Derrick Hollie.” (February 2019)

“DeSmogBlog believes that by simply tying a person to fossil fuels makes him or her suspect. That might work with its donors and Green New Deal base, but to most Americans, Derrick Hollie is guilty as charged–and a scholar and Great American to boot.” (below)

DeSmogBlog is a Left-funded website intended to expose proponents of consumer-chosen, taxpayer-neutral, dense, reliable energies.…

“It has become increasingly clear that Donald Trump’s presidency hasn’t just led to the withdrawal of the United States from the landmark agreement. It has also halted the rest of the world’s efforts…. Call it the ‘Trump’ effect.”

– Joseph Curtin, “Trump Has Officially Ruined Climate Change Diplomacy for Everyone.” FT, December 12, 2018.

Another realistic, “defeatist” article about the futile global crusade to cap and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has been published. “Trump Has Officially Ruined Climate Change Diplomacy for Everyone,” subtitled “The evidence is in: the Paris Agreement doesn’t work without the United States,” joins other articles (such as rising global coal consumption, profiled last week at MasterResource) in the death rattle.

Joseph Curtin, senior fellow at the Institute of International and European Affairs, authored the blunt assessment.…