President Donald Trump on Monday withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change, China expressed concern over the move, and the UN is convinced that Americans will not give up on climate protection.
– The United States will not sabotage its own industry while China pollutes with impunity – said Trump, removing the world’s largest historical polluter from global efforts to combat climate change for the second time in a decade.
China responded on Tuesday that it is concerned about the announcement that the U.S. is withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated in a press release that climate change is a common challenge facing all humanity.
China is actively and consistently responding to climate change and will jointly promote a global green and low-carbon transition, said ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun at a regular press briefing.
– No country can stand aside from this, nor can it do it alone – added the spokesman.
This move places the United States alongside Iran, Libya, and Yemen as the only countries in the world outside the 2015 pact, in which governments agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
It reflects Trump’s skepticism towards global warming, which he has called a hoax, and fits into his broader plan to free American oil and gas drilling from climate restrictions to increase production.
Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the pact in front of supporters gathered at the Capital One Arena in Washington.
– I am immediately withdrawing from the unfair, one-sided theft – the Paris climate agreement – he said before signing the order.
Despite the withdrawal, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is confident that American cities, states, and businesses ‘will continue to show vision and leadership by working on low-carbon, resilient economic growth that will create quality jobs,’ said UN spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino in a written statement.
– It is crucial that the United States remain a leader in environmental protection. Collective efforts under the Paris Agreement have made a difference, but we must go much further and faster together – she said.
The United States must officially notify UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of its withdrawal, which, according to the terms of the agreement, will take effect one year later.
The United States is already the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas thanks to a years-long drilling boom in Texas, New Mexico, and elsewhere, driven by fracking technology and high global prices since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement during his first term, but as the process took years, Biden immediately halted it in 2021.
This time, the withdrawal is likely to take less time – only a year – as Trump will not be bound by the initial three-year commitment of the agreement.
This move could now be more detrimental to global climate efforts, said Paul Watkinson, a former climate negotiator and senior political advisor for France.
The U.S. is currently the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world after China, and its departure undermines global ambitions to reduce those emissions.
– This time it will be harder because we are in the midst of implementation, facing real choices – said Watkinson.
The world is now on track for global warming of more than 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, according to a recent UN report, a level that scientists warn could trigger cascading impacts such as rising sea levels, heatwaves, and devastating storms.
Countries are already struggling to sharply reduce emissions needed to limit the projected temperature rise, as wars, political tensions, and tight government budgets push climate change down the priority list.
Trump’s approach is in stark contrast to that of former President Joe Biden, who wanted the United States to lead global climate efforts and sought to encourage the transition from oil and gas through subsidies and regulations.
Trump said he intends to eliminate those subsidies and regulations to strengthen the federal budget and develop the economy, but claims he can do so while ensuring clean air and water in the United States.
Li Shuo, a climate diplomacy expert at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that the U.S. withdrawal risks undermining the United States’ ability to compete with China in clean energy markets such as solar power and electric vehicles.
– China will win, and the U.S. risks falling even further behind – he said.
