Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who will become Senate Majority Leader in January, and Republican House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday criticized the announcement of a climate deal between the United States and China.
Boehner and other Republicans promised to do all they can to block the President's energy policies for the remaining two years of his term.
"I was particularly distressed by the deal he has reached with the Chinese on his current trip, which, as I read the agreement, it requires the Chinese to do nothing at all for 16 years, while these carbon-emission regulations are creating havoc in my state and other states across the country", McConnell said.
"Kentucky is one of the leading producers of coal in the United States, a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions and a target of scientists and others who warn of the dangers of global warming", he noted "This unrealistic plan that the President would dump on his successor would ensure higher utility rates and far fewer jobs", McConnell said.
The US-China climate agreement is "the latest example of the Presidentآ’s crusade against affordable, reliable energy that is already hurting jobs and squeezing middle-class families," Boehner said as he appeared in McConnell's office with a number of newly elected congressional Republicans.
"Obama intends to double down on his job-crushing policies no matter how devastating the impact," Boehner added.
President Barack Obama announced Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the U.S. will cut its 2005 level of carbon emissions by 26-28% by 2025 while China committed to creating more energy from zero-emission sources and begin reducing its emissions footprint by 2030.