Trump leaves Paris climate treaty again

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement for a second time, a move experts warn will undermine global climate efforts, harm the US' international reputation, and result in lost economic opportunities for the country.

Trump signed an executive order late Monday to pull the US out of the Paris climate accords. The order stated, "It is the policy of my administration to put the interests of the United States and the American people first." The formal exit will occur in one year, as per the accord's rules.

This announcement, anticipated since Trump's election, significantly threatens the Paris Agreement's goal to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, especially since last year was the hottest on record.

Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, said, "As the world's largest economy and top historical emitter, the US has a major responsibility in tackling global climate change. By exiting the Paris Agreement again, it shirks these duties. This is unfair to developing countries that have contributed little to emissions but are heavily impacted by climate change."

In June 2017, then-President Trump announced that the US would leave the Paris Agreement. The withdrawal became official on Nov 4,2020, drawing widespread criticism.

Liu Yuanling, an assistant researcher at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, criticized Trump's decision as driven by nationalism and anti-science views. "It dealt a major blow to global climate governance and ambition," she added.

Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, noted that compared to the first withdrawal, this time the US' exit comes at a critical moment when global climate efforts are already slowing and conditions are less favorable. "This sudden policy shift will likely worsen the challenges to global climate progress in the coming years."

Besides pulling out of the Paris Agreement, Trump also issued orders to revoke previous support for electric vehicles and introduced a comprehensive plan to boost oil and gas production, including declaring a national energy emergency to expedite permitting and rolling back environmental regulations.

Ma argued that these moves are not forward-looking. "Trump's plan aims to lower current oil prices and support traditional industries. However, the global trend is toward a green and low-carbon future. Unlike eight years ago, people now can see the opportunities in green transitions, which have already spurred economic growth in many regions," he said.

Li echoed Ma's opinion, saying that as the costs of key decarbonization technologies drop, investing in these sectors benefits a country's economy, while backtracking on climate change efforts harms a nation's international reputation and economic opportunities.

Despite the withdrawal, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remains confident that US cities, states, and businesses "will continue to demonstrate vision and leadership by working for the low-carbon, resilient economic growth that will create quality jobs," said associate UN spokeswoman Florencia Soto Nino in a written statement.

"If the US withdraws at the federal level, climate cooperation at the local level becomes particularly crucial. This was evident the last time the US exited the Paris Agreement, and it remains true now," said Ma.

When considering how to advance global climate governance in the absence of US participation, experts agree that China and the European Union will need to step up.

"At COP29, China and the EU showcased effective cooperation. The EU has to continue and expand its leadership role, while China also has to play a bigger role. This involves both collaborative efforts between China and the EU and strengthened cooperation between China and the Global South to tackle climate change and promote green transitions," said Ma.

China will stay committed to actively responding to climate change, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday. Guo made the remarks at a regular news conference after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the US to again withdraw from the Paris deal.

"Climate change is a common challenge for all humanity, and no country will be able to stay unaffected," Guo said, adding that China will work with all parties to address the challenge and promote green and low-carbon transition.

Withdrawal from WHO

On Monday, Trump also signed an executive order that will see the US withdrawing from the World Health Organization. The text of the executive order, released by the White House, indicates that this is Trump's second attempt to leave the WHO, following his unsuccessful first attempt in 2020 after losing the presidential election to Joe Biden.

According to the executive order, Trump's decision is again based on his assertions that the WHO failed "to adopt urgently needed reforms "and "continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries' assessed payments."

Guo said China will continue to support the World Health Organization in performing its duties after Trump announced that the US will again withdraw from the WHO. The role of the WHO should be strengthened, instead of weakened, he said.

Wang Qingyun and agencies contributed to this story.

yangran1@chinadaily.com.cn