In a controversial move, US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will once again withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. At a rally at the Capital One Arena, Trump signed the official executive orders ratifying the departure. The move is seen as a powerful symbolic act in Trump’s bid to roll back former President Joe Biden’s climate policies.
This is not the first time that Trump has turned his back on the Paris Agreement. During his first term in 2017, he also withdrew the US from the agreement, which was signed in 2015. At the time, Trump called it “the most dishonest document ever”. The current decision underscores his vision of climate policy, which differs sharply from the course of his predecessor.
With prominent figures like Chris Wright, his Energy Secretary, and Doug Burgum, the Interior Secretary, Trump is surrounding himself with policymakers skeptical of climate change. Both secretaries have expressed ambitions to further expand U.S. oil and gas production.
It is notable that Trump is not only receiving praise for his decision. Major oil companies such as Shell and Exxon Mobil have publicly objected to the departure. They emphasize that stable government policy is crucial for long-term investments and see the Climate Agreement as an important basis for international cooperation.
Implications for global climate goals
Trump’s decision is a setback for the global fight against climate change. According to experts, the departure undermines the solidarity on which the Climate Agreement is based. “If one of the largest emitters and richest countries withdraws, that will have consequences for the willingness of other countries to meet their obligations,” says Heleen de Coninck, professor of climate change.
Yet experts say the treaty is not doomed. When Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2017, international support remained intact and his successor Biden returned to the climate table in 2021.
Unlike 2017, Trump can act more quickly this time. The Paris Agreement now allows member states to withdraw within a year, up from three years previously. It is almost certain that the Trump administration will not set new climate targets, as Biden did earlier with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2035-61% by 66 compared to 2005.
The withdrawal of the US, the world's largest economy, sets the tone for the global climate agenda. Many countries, already discouraged by the recent failed climate summit in Azerbaijan, may show less ambition in their own climate policies.
The question now is whether the Climate Accord has the resilience to compensate for the absence of a major player like the US, or whether other countries will step up to take the lead in the fight against climate change.
Source: Nu.nl
