The US decision comes at a critical time in climate change negotiations. The emissions cut commitments of countries do not put the world on course to meeting the Paris Pact’s targets — countries are expected to announce new targets by February.
Jan 22, 2025 07:15 IST First published on: Jan 22, 2025 at 07:15 IST
US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw his country from the Paris Climate Pact was widely expected. In his campaign, he gave ample evidence that his attitude to the treaty had not changed in the four years he was out of office. He was more explicit about opening new oil and gas fields, compared to 2016. What was unanticipated, however, was the speed with which the US President acted on its threat. In his last tenure, Trump had pulled the US out of the climate pact six months after assuming office. However, the Paris Pact’s technicalities ensured that the US effectively withdrew from the treaty only a few months before Trump’s presidency ended. This time, the US’s exit will be swifter. In about a year, the world’s second-highest GHG emitter will join Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries outside the 2015 deal.
Trump’s 2017 decision was withdrawn by Joe Biden almost immediately after he took charge. Biden’s track record on global warming mitigation is arguably the best among American presidents. Even then, the US is amongst a large number of developed countries that are not on track to meet their emissions target for 2030. With Trump back at the helm, apprehensions that these targets would be compromised are not unfounded. Already, Trump has issued orders that will hurt the US wind energy sector, despite warnings that clamping down on renewable energy will imperil jobs. He has rescinded a 2021 directive that sought to ensure that half of all new vehicles sold in the US by 2030 would be electric. ]Trump’s climate scepticism could bite deeper in his second innings, given that he has more allies at home, compared to his last stint at the White House.
The US decision comes at a critical time in climate change negotiations. The emissions cut commitments of countries do not put the world on course to meeting the Paris Pact’s targets — countries are expected to announce new targets by February. The task for the UNFCCC, which stewards global climate negotiations, now is to ensure that the setback caused by the exit of the world’s largest economy does not weaken the global resolve to scale up mitigation ambitions. Its underwhelming record of the past — in ensuring financial commitments are honoured, in piercing the impasse on fossil fuel use and breaking the ice between the North and the South — means that the UN agency has its task cut out.
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