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Updated November 4, 2020 Foreign Policy & War
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Paris Climate Agreement Withdrawal: Rejecting Global Climate Commitments

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.

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Updated December 1, 2020 Rule of Law
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Environmental Deregulation: 100+ Rules Rolled Back Across Four Years

The administration's approach was systematic: identify Obama-era environmental regulations, determine legal and administrative mechanisms for reversal, and implement reversals. The rollbacks covered air quality, water quality, climate, wildlife, and chemical safety. The vehicle emissions standards rollback was estimated to add approximately one billion tons of additional carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2035. Courts overturned many of the rollbacks, finding procedural defects. The Biden administration reversed the majority of the remaining reversals. The cumulative effect on environmental law precedent and the transition costs of the repeated changes were lasting.

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environmentderegulationclimateEPAfirst-term