Some people will say just about anything:
Pruitt repeated his criticism of the Paris deal, casting doubt on whether the United States would remain part of the climate agreement even if the Trump administration rewrites former President Barack Obama's aggressive plan to cut U.S. emissions. When Trump announced the withdrawal June 1, he held out the possibility of negotiating to "re-enter" the accord "on terms that are fair to the United States."
Pruitt argued that the United States has shown it can address climate change without being bound to an international agreement. He noted that U.S. carbon dioxide emissions have declined since President George W. Bush decided in 2001 to abandon the Kyoto Protocol.
via www.politico.com
Now correlation isn't causation but it appears to me that we were able to cut CO2 emissions by participating in an international recession agreement around about 2007 (in other words, U.S. CO2 emissions fell during the 2007 recession and recovery, CO2 emissions rose during the Bush II administration):
Source: USEPA
