Ryan accuses Obama of 'unlawfully' joining climate pact

House Speaker Paul Ryan said the Paris climate agreement President Obama announced Wednesday "would be disastrous for the American economy," and said Obama "acted unlawfully," in signing the deal without ratification from the U.S. Senate

Ryan, R-Wis., has pushed an agenda in the House that would roll back the climate-focused EPA regulations that have hurt the U.S. energy-producing sector, in particular coal-fired power plants and the coal mining industry.

Ryan said the Paris climate deal, which is a global agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions, would further stifle those jobs.

"It carelessly throws away the great gains that the United States has made over the past decade in energy development," Ryan said, leading to higher energy costs that will most deeply hurt the poor.

Ryan said the Paris deal, under the Constitution, required Senate ratification. Obama signed it earlier this year without consulting with Congress.