In a controversial move, President Donald Trump has once again vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, the world’s most significant effort to combat rising temperatures. This decision echoes his first administration’s actions in 2017, which were promptly reversed by President Joe Biden on his first day in office in 2021.
The US will have to wait a year before it is officially out of the pact. The White House has declared a “national energy emergency,” outlining a series of changes aimed at reversing US climate regulations and boosting oil and gas production. This announcement comes after global temperatures in 2024 rose more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time in a calendar year.
While the Paris agreement is not legally binding, it is the cornerstone of global cooperation to limit the causes of global warming. President Trump’s opposition to this cooperative approach was evident in his 2017 statement that he was elected to “represent the people of Pittsburgh and not Paris.”
The US will now join Iran, Yemen, and Libya as the only countries currently outside the agreement, which was signed ten years ago in the French capital. On Monday evening, Trump signed the order to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, including a letter to the United Nations explaining the decision. He also announced a “national energy emergency” to reverse many Biden-era environmental regulations.
During a speech at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, following his swearing-in, Trump called the Paris agreement a “ripoff.” He emphasized the need for the US to embark on a new age of oil and gas exploration, stating, “We will drill, baby, drill.” The new president vowed to bring prices down, fill strategic reserves, and export American energy worldwide, declaring, “We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.”