US President Donald Trump holds a letter to the UN stating the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement during the inauguration parade at Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC on January 20, 2025.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump pledge withdraw from the famous Paris climate agreement for the second time, it is creating a leadership vacuum from which other countries can benefit, according to the United Nations’ top climate official.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the world’s largest coordinated effort to combat rising temperatures. He also announced a “national energy emergency” to roll back many Biden-era environmental regulations and promised to increase fossil fuel production.
Order to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, which was widely expectedfollowed by a a similar move by the first Trump administration in 2017 and deals a major blow to global environmental protection efforts.
The 2015 Paris Agreement framework is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to “well below 2, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels” in the long term.
“We’ve been here before,” United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said during a CNBC-led panel at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
A key difference between Trump’s 2017 decision to withdraw from the Paris accord and Monday’s executive order, Stiell said, was “significant momentum” to combat global warming in between eight years.
“The world is going through an energy transition that is unstoppable. Last year alone more than $2 trillion was invested in the transition and that compares to $1 trillion in fossil fuels, so the signal is absolutely clear,” Stiell said.
“Anyone who steps away from this significant momentum creates a vacuum that others will fill and benefit from. So I think we’re in this kind of framework context at 2 p.m. after that statement,” he added.
Seagulls fly in front of the Esther offshore oil and gas platform on January 5, 2025 in Seal Beach, California.
Mario Tama | News Getty Images | Getty Images
Climate scientists condemned Trump’s order to remove the US from the Paris Agreement, noting that the pledge comes just weeks after US and global science agencies confirmed that the planet had experienced its the warmest year on record in 2024.
Trump, who called the climate crisis “one of the big scams,” he said Monday that he intends to increase oil and gas production during his second four-year term.
“We’re going to drill, baby, drill,” Trump said in his inaugural address. He also promised that the US would enter a new era of oil and gas exploration.
‘It’s time to talk less about it’
European insurance giants downplayed the immediate impact of Trump’s climate withdrawal.
“It’s harder, but the gentleman has done it before, and the world knows it needs to be improved,” Oliver Bate, CEO of the company Allianzhe told CNBC “Squawk Box Europe” in Davos on Tuesday.
“We’ve reached planetary limits, everyone knows that. Maybe it’s time to talk less about it and do more. At least that’s what we’re trying to do in our industry,” he added.
Zurich insurance CEO Mario Greco dismissed the idea that Trump’s push to withdraw from the Paris climate accord was a major political event.
“I think we have to admit that the Paris Agreement has not fulfilled any of the plans, ambitions and goals that were expected,” Greco said on Tuesday.
“It’s also true that we’re looking for other ways to achieve much-needed reductions in temperature. I think technology needs to help. Without technology, we’re not going to make this planet any colder than it is today or will be any time soon, so no, I don’t think this is a big event,” he added. is.
