{"slug":"trump-paris-climate-withdrawal-2017","title":"Paris Climate Agreement Withdrawal: Rejecting Global Climate Commitments","date":"2017-06-01","lastUpdated":"2020-11-04","description":"On June 1, 2017, Trump announced the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, making the U.S. one of only three countries not party to the accord (along with Nicaragua and Syria, both of which later joined). The U.S. was the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter. The withdrawal eliminated U.S. climate commitments, reduced funding to the Green Climate Fund, and signaled to the international community that climate cooperation could not rely on U.S. participation. The formal withdrawal took effect November 4, 2020 — the day after the U.S. presidential election.","summary":"Trump announced the withdrawal in the Rose Garden, framing it as a defense of American workers against an agreement he claimed was economically harmful. The U.S. had committed under Paris to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26–28% below 2005 levels by 2025. Trump claimed the accord would cost 2.7 million jobs — a figure taken from a Koch-funded study that most economists disputed. The U.S. was the only major nation to withdraw. The formal withdrawal process took three years under treaty terms; the U.S. officially left the day after the 2020 election. President Biden rejoined on his first day in office.","category":"foreign-policy","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/climate/trump-paris-climate-agreement.html","title":"Trump Will Withdraw U.S. From Paris Climate Agreement","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-withdraw-us-from-paris-climate-agreement/2017/06/01/9a0b616a-4678-11e7-bcde-624ad94170ab_story.html","title":"Trump announces U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-paris-climate-agreement-withdrawal","title":"Trump announces U.S. will leave Paris climate pact","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement","title":"The Paris Agreement","publisher":"United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["climate","Paris-Agreement","foreign-policy","first-term","environment","international-law"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-06-01","title":"Trump announces Paris withdrawal in Rose Garden speech","summary":"Trump announces the U.S. will cease implementing its nationally determined contributions under Paris and begin the withdrawal process. He claims the agreement 'punishes the United States' while letting China and India 'do whatever they want.'"},{"date":"2017-08-04","title":"U.S. formally notifies UN of withdrawal intent","summary":"The State Department formally notifies the United Nations of U.S. intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement — the first step in the three-year withdrawal process."},{"date":"2019-11-04","title":"U.S. files official withdrawal notification","summary":"After the earliest possible date for filing, the U.S. formally files its withdrawal notification with the UN. Withdrawal will take effect exactly one year later."},{"date":"2020-11-04","title":"U.S. formally exits Paris Agreement","summary":"U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement takes effect — one day after the 2020 presidential election. The U.S. is the only country to withdraw from the agreement."},{"date":"2021-01-20","title":"Biden rejoins Paris Agreement on first day in office","summary":"President Biden signs an executive order rejoining the Paris Agreement on his first day in office. The U.S. formally rejoins 30 days later."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change","article":"Paris Agreement","provision":"Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement eliminated U.S. nationally determined contributions to limiting global temperature increase and removed the world's second-largest emitter from the framework of collective climate action"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Current and future populations of countries and communities most vulnerable to climate change impacts — including low-lying island nations, coastal communities, people in extreme heat zones, and populations dependent on agricultural systems disrupted by climate instability","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; directed U.S. withdrawal from Paris Climate Agreement over objections of virtually all allied governments","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2020-11-04","summary":"Updated with formal withdrawal taking effect."}]}}