Though the US will remain part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Trump declared: “As of today, the United States will cease all implementation of the non-binding Paris accord.”
The US is the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon, behind only China – which, along with India, was singled out by Trump as being favored under the Paris deal. But both Beijing and New Delhi have reaffirmed their commitment to meeting their targets.
The leaders of France, Germany and Italy said in a joint statement that they regretted the US decision to withdraw from the accord, but affirmed “our strongest commitment” to implement its measures and encouraged “all our partners to speed up their action to combat climate change”
While Trump said the US would be willing to rejoin the accord if it could obtain more favorable terms, the three European leaders said the agreement could not be renegotiated “since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economics”.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said in an unprecedented English-language speech from the Elysée Palace, that he believed Trump had made a mistake. “I do respect this decision but I do think it is an actual mistake both for the US and for our planet. Wherever we live, whoever we are, we all share the same responsibility: make our planet great again,” Macron added.
Downing Street issued a later statement saying the British prime minister, Theresa May, had told Trump of her “disappointment” at his decision and stressed that Britain remained committed to it. Downing Street sources would not say whether May had been asked to sign a letter of condemnation sent by Germany, France and Italy.
Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement means the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases will exit the international effort to address dangerous global warming. It joins Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries not party to it.
Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, issued a rare statement saying the new administration had joined “a small handful of nations that reject the future”. But he said that US states, cities and businesses “will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got”.