US Officially Rejoins Climate Deal As Texas Reels Under Arctic Freeze

The US rejoined the Paris climate accord on Friday even as a Texas-sized political controversy erupted in the country over collapsed power grids and water supply disruption — widely attributed to global warming — in the Republican-run state.

- Chidanand Rajghatta

“Don’t Mess With Texas,” an anti-littering slogan that is now seen as a declaration of independent identity and Texas swagger didn’t stand a chance against Mother Nature, messing with which global warming experts say is what has caused havoc in the hydrocarbon-rich state.

More than 50 people have died in an Arctic freeze from a winter storm that has left millions without power, heat, and water supply in a state famed for warm weather. Local officials, including the state’s Republican Governor Greg Abbott, have blamed “green energy” for the catastrophe, specifically blaming frozen wind turbines for blackouts, and using it as a stick to beat the Green New Deal that Democrats and liberals are advocating. Renewable energy proponents, including Bill Gates, are pushing back, pointing out that the state runs largely on fossil fuels and wind power accounted for less than 13% of the 30 to 35 gigawatts of total outages.