Photo // Matt Rourke for MSN
Trump signs the order to leave the Paris Climate Agreement at the White House.
By: Shashank MuraliAdvertising Manager, Staff-Writer
On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements,” withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Paris Agreement is a multinational pact that was developed by the signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in order to address climate change. The primary objective of the accord is to restrict the global temperature increase in this century to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to strive for a limit of 1.5 degrees.
The U.S. is the sole nation to have withdrawn from the agreement, while the overwhelming majority of nations have signed on. President Trump also issued an executive action during his first term in 2017, which withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement in 2020 after a delay. Former President Joe Biden reversed this decision on his first day in office. President Trump’s primary objective of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement was to advance his “America first” agenda, with an emphasis on the interests of American citizens and enterprises.
Before signing the order, President Trump declared, “I am immediately withdrawing from the unfair, one-sided Paris climate accord.”
He also asserted that countries such as India and China are paying less for the use of their amenities, while the U.S. is paying more. This is in accordance with the Trump administration’s agreement to refrain from making any further investments in these areas. Instead, the administration will focus on investing in local industries within the United States, which will contribute to the growth of the U.S. economy and allow the country to regain its status as a pillar.
“The United States must continue to be a leader in environmental issues,” Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said. “The collective efforts under the Paris Agreement have made a difference but we need to go much further and faster together.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the United States has formally informed Guterres of its withdrawal, which will take effect one year subsequently. The environment is at peril, the leader has spoken and a decision has been made.