Fox News' Lou Dobbs is accusing President Obama of “trying to subvert the national sovereignty,” “circumvent[t] our constitution,” and impose “unprecedented ... rule by fiat” by participating in UN climate change negotiations, even though the latest round of talks is expected to accomplish little.

The UN climate change summit in Doha, Qatar is not expected to produce any new commitment to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, and if it does, any treaty would need to be ratified by a supermajority in the Senate. Yet Dobbs claimed Obama is trying to “rule by fiat” by supporting action on climate change, even as anchor Megyn Kelly pointed out that Americans support doing more: 

But far from “trying to subvert the national sovereignty,” Obama was recently praised by the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board for “veto[ing]” an attempt by Europe to levy a carbon tax on U.S. airlines in one of his first moves after re-election.

As for the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which Kelly briefly raised, a recent court ruling determined that these gases are “indisputably an 'air pollutant'” and thus must be regulated under the Clean Air Act if they “may be reasonably anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.” Fox's nightly news show ignored the ruling, which built upon a 2007 Supreme Court decision. These rulings don't comport with Dobbs' narrative that the regulations “circumven[t] our constitution.”