United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement
On June 1, 2017, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation,[1][2] contending that the agreement would "undermine" the U.S. economy, and put the U.S. "at a permanent disadvantage."[3][4]
In accordance with Article 28 of the Paris Agreement, a country cannot give notice of withdrawal from the agreement within the first three years of its start date in the relevant country, which was on November 4, 2016, in the case of the United States. The White House later clarified that the U.S. would abide by the four-year exit process.[5] On November 4, 2019, the administration gave a formal notice of intention to withdraw, which takes 12 months to take effect. Until the withdrawal took effect, the United States was obligated to maintain its commitments under the Agreement, such as the requirement to continue reporting its emissions to the United Nations.[6] The withdrawal took effect on November 4, 2020, one day after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.[7]
Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. was backed by many Republicans[8][9][10][11] but was strongly opposed by Democrats.[10][12][13] Trump's decision to withdraw was strongly criticized in the U.S. and abroad by environmentalists,[13][14] religious organizations,[15] business leaders,[16][17] and scientists.[14][18][19] A majority of Americans opposed withdrawal.[11]
Following Trump's announcement, the governors of several U.S. states formed the U.S. Climate Alliance to continue to advance the objectives of the Paris Agreement at the state level despite the federal withdrawal. As of July 1, 2019, 24 states, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico have joined the alliance,[20] and similar commitments have also been expressed by other state governors, mayors, and businesses.[6]
Trump's withdrawal from the Paris agreement impacted other countries by reducing its financial aid to the Green Climate fund.[21] The termination of the $3 billion U.S. funding ultimately impacted climate change research and decreased society's chance of reaching the Paris Agreement goals, as well as omitted U.S. contributions to the future IPCC reports.[22][23] Trump's decision also affected the carbon emission space as well as the carbon price.[24] The U.S.'s withdrawal also meant that the spot to take over the global climate regime was obtainable for China and the EU.[25]
Following the 2020 presidential election, President-elect Joe Biden vowed to rejoin the Paris Agreement on his first day in office.[26][27][28] On January 20, 2021, shortly after his inauguration, Biden signed an executive order to rejoin the agreement.[29][30] The United States formally rejoined the Paris Agreement on February 19, 2021, 107 days after the withdrawal took effect.
Process[edit]
In accordance with Article 28 of the Paris Agreement, the United States could only file its notice of intent to withdraw no earlier than November 4, 2019, three years after the Agreement had come into effect, which would be effective one year later.[53] Until the withdrawal took effect, the United States was obligated to maintain its commitments under the Agreement, including the requirement to continue reporting its emissions to the United Nations.[6][54] According to a memo obtained by HuffPost believed to be written by US State Department legal office, any "attempts to withdraw from the Paris Agreement outside of the above-described withdrawal provisions would be inconsistent with international law and would not be accepted internationally."[55][56]
On August 4, 2017, the Trump administration formally outlined its intention of the withdrawal in an official notice delivered to the United Nations as depositary.[57] In a separate statement, the State Department said it will continue participating in international climate change negotiations, including talks aimed at implementing the climate deal.[58][59]
The United States filed its intent to withdraw at the earliest possible date, on November 4, 2019. After the one-year period, on November 4, 2020, the U.S. formally withdrew from the Agreement, on the day following the 2020 U.S. presidential election but rejoined the agreement when President Biden took office.[53]
Reactions[edit]
Scientists and environmentalists[edit]
Piers Forster, the director of the University of Leeds' Priestley International Centre for Climate, called the decision to withdraw "a sad day for evidence-based policy" and expressed hope that individual Americans, businesses and states would nevertheless choose to decarbonize. Climate scientist Dave Reay of the University of Edinburgh said that "The United States will come to rue this day." The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), in a statement by its president Antonio Busalacchi Jr., said that the decision to withdraw "does not mean that climate change will go away" and warned that "the heightened potential for increased greenhouse gas emissions poses a substantial threat to our communities, businesses, and military." The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation called the decision to withdraw "very discouraging" and said that it would diminish confidence in international climate change efforts; the technology think tank called for federal efforts on "the smart grid, energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, and advanced nuclear and solar power" and warned that "Without a smart, aggressive clean-energy innovation strategy, the world will not avert the worst effects of climate change."[68]
Canadian academic and environmental activist David Suzuki stated, "Trump just passed on the best deal the planet has ever seen".[69] Navroz Dubash of the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi expressed bafflement at Trump's move, citing the declining costs of renewable energy sources and the increasing difficulty of obtaining investment for fossil-fuel projects.[70] Environmental scientist and risk assessor Dana Nuccitelli stated that it "now seems inevitable that the history books will view Trump as America's worst-ever president".[71] Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute also described Trump's speech as "confused nonsense".[72] Stephen Hawking criticized Trump, saying that he "will cause avoidable environmental damage to our beautiful planet, endangering the natural world, for us and our children."[73]
Multiple environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council, condemned Trump's decision.[74][75] American environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben, the founder of the climate change action group 350.org, called the move "a stupid and reckless decision—our nation's dumbest act since launching the war in Iraq." McKibben wrote that Trump's decision to withdraw amounted "to a thorough repudiation of two of the civilizing forces on our planet: diplomacy and science." He called upon U.S. states and cities to "double down" on commitments to renewable energy.[76]
Rejoining[edit]
Joe Biden became the president-elect following the November 2020 election, defeating Trump. As part of his transition plan, Biden announced that one of his first actions on his first day in office would be to return the United States to the Paris Agreement via an executive order. He also stated plans to further the United States' commitment towards mitigating climate change in line with the Paris Agreement.[26][27][225]
Under terms of the Agreement, the United States would only need to wait a month after submitting their intent to rejoin before formally rejoining, though they would lose some of the privileges from the short time the country was out of the Agreement; they would not have been able to participate in any key meetings while they were not a member, for example.[53]
President Biden signed an executive order to rejoin the Paris Agreement on January 20, 2021, his first day in office; the US rejoined on February 19, 2021.[226][30]