US Withdraws from Key UN Climate Treaty Amid Outrage, Global Isolation
In a move that has sparked widespread outrage and isolation, US President Donald Trump announced the country's withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a foundational international agreement aimed at addressing the climate crisis. The decision was made in a presidential memorandum issued on Wednesday, along with 65 other organizations, agencies, and commissions, citing them as "contrary to the interests of the United States".
The UNFCCC treaty has been ratified by every country in the world since its inception 34 years ago, providing a crucial platform for international cooperation on climate issues. The US Senate had previously ratified the treaty in October 1992.
Trump's move is particularly galling given his administration's long history of undermining climate science and policy initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Critics have dubbed his stance as "climate denial" and argue that it will leave the country vulnerable to the devastating impacts of a warming planet, including more frequent and intense natural disasters, rising sea levels, and unpredictable weather patterns.
"This is a shortsighted, embarrassing and foolish decision," said Gina McCarthy, who served as a top climate adviser to Joe Biden's White House. "The US is forfeiting its ability to influence trillions of dollars in investments, policies, and decisions that would have advanced our economy and protected us from costly disasters."
Other experts have echoed this sentiment, arguing that Trump's decision will further hamper the US's ability to compete with China, which has become a leader in the world's burgeoning clean energy technology industries. "The Trump administration is ceding trillions of dollars in investment that the clean energy transition brings to nations willing to follow the science and embrace the cleanest, cheapest sources of energy," said Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The withdrawal from the UNFCCC treaty comes on top of other climate-related moves by the Trump administration, including its decision to exit the Paris Agreement and dismantle America's scientific infrastructure. Critics have accused the administration of being beholden to the fossil fuel industry, which has been a major donor to Trump's campaign and has lobbied fiercely against climate policies.
The move is also seen as a blow to global climate diplomacy, with many countries expressing disappointment and concern at the US's decision. "Letting this lawless move stand could shut the US out of climate diplomacy forever," said Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
As the world grapples with the increasingly dire impacts of climate change, Trump's decision has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation. It remains to be seen whether a future president will be able to rejoin the UNFCCC treaty without a further Senate vote, but one thing is certain: the US is now even more isolated from the global effort to address this pressing issue.
In a move that has sparked widespread outrage and isolation, US President Donald Trump announced the country's withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a foundational international agreement aimed at addressing the climate crisis. The decision was made in a presidential memorandum issued on Wednesday, along with 65 other organizations, agencies, and commissions, citing them as "contrary to the interests of the United States".
The UNFCCC treaty has been ratified by every country in the world since its inception 34 years ago, providing a crucial platform for international cooperation on climate issues. The US Senate had previously ratified the treaty in October 1992.
Trump's move is particularly galling given his administration's long history of undermining climate science and policy initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Critics have dubbed his stance as "climate denial" and argue that it will leave the country vulnerable to the devastating impacts of a warming planet, including more frequent and intense natural disasters, rising sea levels, and unpredictable weather patterns.
"This is a shortsighted, embarrassing and foolish decision," said Gina McCarthy, who served as a top climate adviser to Joe Biden's White House. "The US is forfeiting its ability to influence trillions of dollars in investments, policies, and decisions that would have advanced our economy and protected us from costly disasters."
Other experts have echoed this sentiment, arguing that Trump's decision will further hamper the US's ability to compete with China, which has become a leader in the world's burgeoning clean energy technology industries. "The Trump administration is ceding trillions of dollars in investment that the clean energy transition brings to nations willing to follow the science and embrace the cleanest, cheapest sources of energy," said Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The withdrawal from the UNFCCC treaty comes on top of other climate-related moves by the Trump administration, including its decision to exit the Paris Agreement and dismantle America's scientific infrastructure. Critics have accused the administration of being beholden to the fossil fuel industry, which has been a major donor to Trump's campaign and has lobbied fiercely against climate policies.
The move is also seen as a blow to global climate diplomacy, with many countries expressing disappointment and concern at the US's decision. "Letting this lawless move stand could shut the US out of climate diplomacy forever," said Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
As the world grapples with the increasingly dire impacts of climate change, Trump's decision has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation. It remains to be seen whether a future president will be able to rejoin the UNFCCC treaty without a further Senate vote, but one thing is certain: the US is now even more isolated from the global effort to address this pressing issue.
. its like he's playing with fire and everyone else is getting burned. climate change is real and we need to take action, not hide behind denial and greed. i mean what's next? withdrawing from the Geneva convention too or something? 
seriously though, this move is going to have huge consequences for the us and the world at large. china and europe are already jumping ahead in clean energy tech, so now the us is lagging behind 
. trump's decision is just a sad reminder that some people don't care about the future of our planet and their kids' futures 
the us is literally throwing away their chance to make a difference on climate change and it's just heartbreaking 
i mean come on, trumps stance on climate science is like something out of a bad movie 
how can they just ignore the facts and put profits over people? 
the impact on china is going to be huge too, like they're going to be the clean energy superpower overnight 
we need to support our global leaders who are actually doing something about this crisis 
. it's like, come on man, we need to work together as a global community to address this issue before it's too late... but instead trump is playing solo and it's really not cool 
I'm not surprised by Trump's move on climate change, given his track record of ignoring science and putting corporate interests first 
. But come on, 65 other organizations? That's a lot of people who have spoken out against him 
. Trump's decision is basically saying that he doesn't want to influence trillions of dollars in investments and policies 
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Trump's decision to withdraw from the UN Climate Treaty is insane! Like what's next? Pulling out of the whole world 
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. It's like they want to just stay in the dark ages and ignore the rest of the world 
. The fact that Gina McCarthy and other experts are saying this is "shortsighted" and "foolish" doesn't even get me started 
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. The world needs to come together on climate change and make some real progress, but now it looks like the US is just going to sit back and let China and everyone else do the heavy lifting 
. but the thing is, climate change isn't like a country, it's like... a problem that affects EVERYONE 
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. but one thing's for sure - this move is a major setback for global climate diplomacy and it's gonna take a long time to fix 
.