Trump says he will withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement after the hottest year on record
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US President Donald Trump has said he will pull the US out of the historic Paris climate accord, dealing a blow to global efforts to slow global warming after the hottest year on record.
The move was announced on Monday after Trump was sworn in to replace Joe Biden as US president.
“President Trump will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement,” the White House said in an email listing the new administration’s priorities less than half an hour after the new president took office.
America’s withdrawal from the 2015 accord, which was signed by nearly 200 countries, means the world’s biggest historical polluter will once again renege on its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Rachel Cleetus, director of policy and the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the US withdrawal was a “travesty” and “clearly defies scientific reality”.
At his inauguration, Trump said he would seek to make the most of America’s oil and gas reserves.
The US is the only country to leave the Paris Agreement, under the first Trump administration in 2017. But it rejoined under Biden in 2021. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also threatened to withdraw from the agreement, but did not follow through.
This is a developing story