On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed executive actions to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark climate change treaty aimed at limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, with an ideal goal of 1.5 degrees.
The withdrawal comes as the planet crossed the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming in 2024, a marker established during the 2015 Paris Climate Summit. While the Paris Agreement set ambitious climate targets, its non-binding nature allowed countries to determine their own emission reduction goals. However, the speed of climate change has surpassed expectations, with scientists warning that any sustained warming beyond 1.5 degrees will significantly impair humanity’s ability to adapt.
Despite Trump’s decision to exit the agreement, the Biden administration had submitted a bold climate target in December 2024, aiming for a 66% reduction in emissions by 2035. Experts, however, express concerns that under Trump’s leadership, the U.S. may continue to fall short of meeting global climate commitments.
International leaders have reacted with concern, highlighting the dangers of excluding the U.S. from the global effort to combat climate change. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, reiterated that the door remains open for the U.S. to re-engage but stressed the growing clean energy boom that nations are tapping into, which is valued at $2 trillion and rising. Countries that disregard this shift, Stiell warned, risk falling behind economically while the cost of climate disasters continues to rise.
Trump’s move is expected to intensify global debates on the future of climate diplomacy and could have long-lasting effects on future international climate negotiations.
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