Trump's UN climate exit will set back progress, advocates warn
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President Trump's decision to yank the U.S. from UN climate change agencies will set back international progress on addressing the climate, observers say.
Why it matters: The U.S. is the world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and provides much of the scientific heft addressing the problem.
- Climate scientists and activists predicted it will further isolate the U.S. on the global stage.
Driving the news: Trump on Wednesday night announced a pullout from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the foundation of most global climate work, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which regularly assesses climate science.
- "The UNFCCC underpins global climate action," EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said in a post on X. "It brings countries together to support climate, reduce emissions, adapt to climate change, and track progress."
- The U.S. "has some of the world's best climate scientists (and more of them than anywhere else) & has contributed disproportionately to understanding the climate system," University of Hawaii climate scientist David Ho said in a Bluesky post.
Zoom in: Climate advocates were dismayed after Trump withdrew a second time from the Paris Agreement upon taking office. But they said the latest move still stings.
- "Pulling out of the UNFCCC is a different order of magnitude from the Paris Agreement," said Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
- "It removes the U.S. completely from the global climate framework and negotiations."
- Avoiding climate talks "will only isolate the United States further, undermine our global stature with allies around the globe, and cede the field to China," said Kaveh Guilanpour, vice president for international strategies at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.
Context: In all likelihood, U.S. scientists can't be fully barred from participating in IPCC reports. But those working for federal agencies could face repercussions if they do.
The other side: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that the groups subject to the withdrawal are "anti-American, useless, or wasteful international organizations. Review of additional international organizations remains ongoing."
What's next: Potential challenges to Trump's action.
- Legal experts questioned whether Trump's move is legal, though the existence of laws hasn't stopped other moves of his.
- It also may hand Democrats a new political issue for the November midterms. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) called Trump's move "a betrayal of every community on the frontlines of climate disaster."
