The White House informed the United Nations on Monday that it will be officially leaving the Paris Climate Agreement.

The agreement was made to curb the global use of fossil fuels and to help poorer countries prepare to combat the effects of climate change now and in the future. The United States was one of more than 200 countries that signed on the agreement, including India and China.

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the United States is No. 2.

Now, the United States is backing out of the agreement, citing that staying in the agreement would hamper the economy of the United States.

Scientists across the globe have been saying for years that the clock is ticking on combatting climate change, that is why more than 200 nations agreed in Paris to start making changes to make the Earth cleaner and more efficient for future generations and for the survival of our planet.

We at The Daily Eastern News feel that the United States backing out of the Paris Agreement is a disgrace to our planet and a slap in the face to future generations as it appears that this administration is prioritizing money and “U.S. competitiveness” over the health of our planet and the quality of life of young generations.

The United States, the most influential country in the world, should be a leader in fighting climate change, an issue that should be handled with incredible urgency and care, but instead the United States took a step backward and showed the entire world it will put profit above planet.

Countless researchers and scientists have been warning us for years that climate change is no joke. There is no longer a debate about whether or not it is real and those who continue to deny its existence should do so at their own peril.

The rest of the globe recognizes the dangers of climate change and the urgent actions that are needed to slow it down, but now the United States will be on the outside looking in at an issue that has the potential to change life on Earth as we know it forever.

Pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement is an embarrassment. More so, the United State’s logic for pulling out of the agreement, which is centered around money and the economy is even more so embarrassing.

Because of this action by the Trump administration, the United States now finds itself on the wrong side of history. We have been on the wrong side of history before as a nation, and it is clear with this move we have not learned from our prior mistakes.

Our hope at The Daily Eastern News is that the U.S. government will soon reverse this decision and rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, but for now it appears we all, or at least so who are young enough to see the results, will be stuck to watch how this abysmal decision plays out.

Once again our politicians have failed the younger generations, putting immediate economic returns above the long-term health of the planet we live on.