Trump has argued that the pact puts a bigger burden on America to cut emissions while letting other nations continue polluting at higher levels.
President Donald Trump will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, the White House said on Jan. 20, after Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president.
This marks the second time Trump has pulled the nation out of the agreement, which he has repeatedly criticized as “very unfair” to the United States.
The announcement was made in a White House statement on Monday, which came as Trump was sworn in for a second term. Early in his first term, Trump announced he would cancel U.S. participation in the climate pact, but because of the complex rules of the treaty, the withdrawal didn’t formally take effect until Nov. 4, 2020, a day after that year’s presidential election.
Trump previously said that the treaty placed a bigger burden on America to cut emissions while letting other nations continue polluting at higher levels.
“The Paris Accord would’ve been a giant transfer of American wealth to foreign nations that are responsible for most of the world’s pollution,” Trump said in October 2019. “The Paris Accord would’ve been shutting down American producers with excessive regulatory restrictions like you would not believe, while allowing foreign producers to pollute with impunity.”
On his first day in office on Jan. 20, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an instrument to bring the United States back into the Paris climate deal. About a month later, Biden signed an acceptance agreement that formally brought the United States back into the pact, pledging to “combat climate change in a way we have not before.”
Biden made climate action a top priority of his administration. This included setting a goal of a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, which in December 2024 was revised to a reduction of between 61 percent and 66 percent by 2035.
“I’m proud that my administration is carrying out the boldest climate agenda in American history,” Biden said in a video message.
By Tom Ozimek
