Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
A guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
US President Donald Trump said he would withdraw the United States from the historic Paris climate accord, dealing a blow to global efforts to slow global warming after one of the hottest years on record.
Trump announced the move after he was sworn in to replace Joe Biden as U.S. president on Monday.
“President Trump will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement,” the White House said in an email outlining the new administration’s priorities less than half an hour after the new president took office.
The United States’ withdrawal from the 2015 agreement signed by nearly 200 countries means that the world’s largest historical polluter will once again renege on its commitment to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Rachel Cleites, policy director of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the U.S. withdrawal was “a travesty” and “clearly contrary to scientific reality.”
In his inaugural address, Trump said he would seek to maximize the use of U.S. oil and natural gas reserves. He has previously described climate change as a “hoax”.
Last year was the first time average temperatures exceeded the 2015 Paris Agreement target of limiting temperature increases since pre-industrial times to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and ideally 1.5 degrees Celsius.
According to a United Nations report, global temperatures are expected to rise by 2.9 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The United States was the only country to withdraw from the Paris Agreement during the first Trump administration in 2017, a process that took more than two years. But it will rejoin under Biden in February 2021.
Simon Steel, the head of the United Nations climate change agency that oversees the Paris Agreement, said on Monday: “The door remains open… We welcome the constructive engagement of all countries.
Laurence Tubiana, a key architect of the Paris agreement, said the U.S.’s move to withdraw was “unfortunate” but that the agreement was “more powerful than the politics and policies of any single country.”
Some experts say Trump’s move to reverse Biden’s “green” policies will give China, the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries, an advantage.
Tim Sahai, co-director of the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University, said: “While U.S. manufacturers falter, China will happily wave its hand in the rearview mirror of one of the world’s leading electric vehicles.
The Biden administration raised the bar on U.S. climate goals in its final month in office, setting a target of reducing economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 61% to 66% by 2035 from 2005 levels.
At the last U.N. climate summit in Baku, Joe Biden’s top climate adviser John Podesta acknowledged that U.S. efforts to combat global warming “may be on hold” under the Trump White House. , but he tried to reassure U.S. allies that it would not hinder U.S. efforts to combat global warming. Businesses, states, cities and local authorities turn to green energy and technology.
climate capital
Where climate change meets business, markets and politics. Explore the FT’s coverage here.
Are you curious about the Financial Times’ commitment to environmental sustainability? Learn more about our science-based goals here
