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Newly inaugurated President Donald J. Trump quickly announced that the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter would again leave the Paris Climate Accord.
“President Trump will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord,” the White House wrote in an email listing the administration’s new policy priorities within 30 minutes of his swearing-in, the Financial Times reports.
The announcement comes days after the World Meteorological Organization confirmed 2024 was the hottest year on record, exceeding the pre-industrial global average temperature by 1.55 ºC.
See Also:What 485 Million Years of Climate History Tell Us About Today’s CrisisThe signatories of the Paris Agreement initially committed to reducing carbon emissions to keep global temperatures within 2 ºC of the pre-Industria average.
During his first term, Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 deal signed by almost 200 countries. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., reversed this decision after his 2020 election victory.
“President Trump made the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement because of the unfair economic burden imposed on American workers, businesses and taxpayers by U.S. pledges made under the agreement,” then‑U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in 2019, explaining the decision.
While U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.5 percent during the first Trump administration – largely attributable to widespread stay-at-home orders at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – $2 (€1.77) billion pledged to help developing countries mitigate climate change impacts was canceled.
It took three years from Trump’s 2017 announcement to formalize his departure from the agreement. However, in the intervening time, he sent negotiators to United Nations climate talks to promote fossil fuels. He stopped funding the Clean Power Plan, International Climate Change Program and Cooperation on Climate Change Research.
This time, the U.S. will leave the agreement one year after the Trump administration sends a letter announcing its departure. It remains unclear whether the administration has already done this.
Despite Trump’s rhetoric and policies, the U.S. met its first nationally determined contribution target under the Paris Agreement: a 17 percent reduction of 2005 greenhouse gas levels by 2020.
See Also:Olive Trees Can Help Beat Climate ChangeHowever, meeting the updated goal of reducing 2005 greenhouse gas levels by 61 percent by 2030, announced by Biden in December, will be far more challenging, requiring emissions to fall by at least 3.13 billion metric tons from their 2023 levels.
While many scientists, activists and Democrats have reacted to the news with dismay, others believe the private sector will continue to invest in renewable energy and climate-friendly technology.
Laurence Tubiana, the European Climate Foundation’s chief executive who worked closely on the Paris Agreement, told AP News that the planned U.S. withdrawal is unfortunate. Still, the context is different this time around.
“There is unstoppable economic momentum behind the global transition, which the U.S. has gained from and led but now risks forfeiting,” he said.
Kaveh Guilanpour, the vice president of international strategies at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, was less optimistic.
He told HuffPost that the decision was “deeply regrettable” and once again isolated the U.S. outside the international consensus.
“There is no sugar-coating this — it will be harmful to global efforts to combat climate change, and so ultimately, also harmful to the future prosperity and security of U.S. citizens,” Guilanpour said.