By Henri Migala
Photo: cc via Bing
January 22, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- On Monday, January 20, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time, once again placing the world's top historic emitter of greenhouse gases outside the global pact aimed at pushing nations to tackle climate change.
The withdrawal comes amid increasingly severe wildfires, hurricanes and other severe weather disasters fueled in large part by rapidly accelerating climate change. A National Climate Assessment study found that climate change is affecting every region in the U.S., across economic sectors.
Far from taking any other steps to reduce carbon emissions, however, President Trump has issued executive orders to end actions aimed at cutting carbon and increase use of fossil fuels that accelerate climate change.
His administration has also deleted all climate change information and references from federal websites, eliminating access to key data for researchers, the press, and the public.
What is the Paris Climate and why is it important?
The Paris Climate Agreement is a landmark international accord that was adopted by nearly every nation in 2015 to address climate change and its negative impacts. The agreement holds countries accountable to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, while at the same time pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees.
The only countries in the world which have not ratified the 2015 Paris Climate are Iran, Libya and Yemen. With President Trump’s removal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, the U.S. has now joined those countries.
From the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC):
The Paris Climate Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. It entered into force on 4 November 2016.
Its overarching goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
However, in recent years, world leaders have stressed the need to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of this century. That’s because the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that crossing the 1.5°C threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.
To limit global warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030.
The Paris Climate Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations together to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.
History of U.S. climate action and commitments under Paris Climate Agreement
The United States' relationship with the Paris Climate Agreement has seen significant shifts, influenced by changes in presidential administrations. Under President Barack Obama, the U.S. was an active participant in the negotiations and played a significant role in shaping the agreement. In 2016, President Obama formally signed the Paris Agreement, committing the U.S. to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025.
In 2017, President Donald Trump, who called climate change “a hoax,” announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, citing concerns about its economic impact and fairness to American industries. The formal withdrawal process took effect in November 2020.
On his first day in office, President Biden formally notified the United Nations of the United States’ intent to rejoin the Agreement, which the US did thirty days later, on February 19, 2021 (a delay required by policy).
The U.S., under President Biden, took an active role in global climate negotiations, aiming to reduce emissions, invest in renewable energy, and encourage other countries to enhance their climate commitments. The U.S. pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and was working to advance both domestic and international climate action.
In 2022, less than two years since taking office, President Biden’s leadership to tackle the climate crisis had boosted U.S. manufacturing and deployment of cost-cutting clean energy technologies, put the country on a durable path aligned with limiting warming to 1.5 °C, and galvanized global action by partners and the private sector – building unprecedented momentum towards achieving critical climate goals and strengthening global resilience.
Former President Biden’s climate action plan, presented at the COP27 (The 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Egypt in November 2022, positioned the United States to achieve the ambitious goals of reducing emissions 50-52% below 2005 levels in 2030 and to net-zero by 2050 through a series of unprecedented climate actions.
These Green New Deal actions were not only reducing emissions, but promised to bolster energy security, help families save money on their energy bills, create good-paying jobs for workers and spur a new era of clean American manufacturing, advance environmental justice, and ensure healthier air and cleaner water for communities.
Trump declares national energy emergency, moves to worsen greenhouse gas emissions
On Monday, January 20, President Trump terminated America’s commitments to address climate change, both domestically and internationally, while promising to actively and aggressively engage in activities that directly contribute to climate change, such as committing the US to use more fossil fuels that increase greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.S. has been the world’s largest oil and gas producer for years. The CEOs of Exxon and Chevron have said oil and gas production levels are based on market conditions and are unlikely to change meaningfully in response to Trump’s desire to “drill, baby, drill.”
As part of President Trump’s energy agenda, the President has declared a national energy emergency, arguing that the U.S. faces a “precariously inadequate and intermittent energy supply, and an increasingly unreliable grid” that threatens national security.
In anticipation of President Trump’s promise to expand U.S. production and use of fossil fuels, President Biden moved to protect U.S. coastal waters from oil and gas drilling. President Trump has issued an order to revoke Biden’s ban, although it is uncertain if the President has the authority to do so. A federal court struck down a similar order by Trump during his first term that sought to reverse President Obama’s move to protect Arctic and Atlantic waters from similar exploitation. President Trump has also ordered the exploitation of natural resources in formerly-protected , environmentally sensitive raeas in Alaska.
Excerpts from the President’s Executive Order:
Sec. 3. Implementation. (a) The United States Ambassador to the United Nations shall immediately submit formal written notification of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
(b) The United States Ambassador to the United Nations shall immediately submit written formal notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, or any relevant party, of the United States’ withdrawal from any agreement, pact, , or similar commitment made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
(c) The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, in collaboration with the Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, shall immediately cease or revoke any purported financial commitment made by the United States under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
(e) The U.S. International Climate Finance Plan is revoked and rescinded immediately. (Note: all references to the US International Climate Finance Plan have been removed from all US government websites and was not available for review for this article).
(f) Within 30 days of this order, the Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Agriculture, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Chief Executive Officer of the International Development Finance Corporation, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, President of the Export-Import Bank, and head of any other relevant department or agency shall submit a report to the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs that details their actions to revoke or rescind policies that were implemented to advance the International Climate Finance Plan.
Global and domestic reactions to the announcement of the second U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement:
World Meteorological Organization Spokesperson Clare Nullis:
"The United States of America accounts for the lion’s share of global economic losses from weather, climate and water-related hazards. According to the U.S. figures, the U.S. has sustained more than 400 weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall costs exceeded $1 billion... The need for the Paris Agreement is more urgent than ever."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning:
"China is concerned about the U.S. announcement that it will withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Climate change is a common challenge facing all of humanity. No country can stay out of it, and no country can be immune to it."
Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva:
"President Donald Trump in his inaugural speech started to confirm the most pessimistic predictions about the challenging times to come. His first announcements go against backing the energy transition, combating climate change, and valuing renewable energy. They are the opposite of policies guided by evidence brought by science and common sense imposed by the reality of extreme weather events, including in his own country."
Former French Prime Minister and President of COP 21 Laurent Fabius:
"This is a serious decision, contrary to scientific evidence, but one that should not prevent us from continuing the vital international fight against climate change and its serious consequences for humanity."
New York Governor Kathy Hochul And New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Co-Chairs of the U.S. Climate Alliance:
"Our states and territories continue to have broad authority under the U.S. Constitution to protect our progress and advance the climate solutions we need. This does not change with a shift in federal administration ... It's critical for the international community to know that climate action will continue in the U.S. The Alliance will bring this message to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil (COP30) later this year."
Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO of World Resources Institute:
"It simply makes no sense for the United States to voluntarily give up political influence and pass up opportunities to shape the exploding green energy market."
Resources:
“Everything you Need to Know” about the Paris Climate Agreement: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/paris-climate-agreement-everything-you-need-know
To read the full text of President Trump’s Executive Order to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and revoke the US International Climate Finance Plan, see: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/putting-america-first-in-international-environmental-agreements/
For additional information and to read the full details about the strategies and goals of the Paris Agreement, see: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement
The Green New Deal: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/109/text
Extreme Weather and Climate Change:
https://www.c2es.org/content/extreme-weather-and-climate-change/
National Climate Assessment: https://refresh-stg-c2es.pantheonsite.io/content/national-climate-assessment/
