US President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum directing the United States to withdraw from 66 international organisations and treaties. These include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The decision marks a full US withdrawal from global climate cooperation. The United States is the world’s largest historical polluter. By leaving these bodies, the country will no longer take part in international climate mitigation efforts or scientific assessments of climate change.

The move also means the US will step away from providing climate finance to developing nations. This funding supports energy transition, mitigation, and adaptation.

Sharp Criticism From Climate Experts

Climate experts strongly criticised the decision. Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists called the move deeply damaging to global cooperation.

“President Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the bedrock global treaty to tackle climate change is a new low and yet another a sign that this authoritarian, anti-science administration is determined to sacrifice people’s well-being and destabilize global cooperation. But forward-looking U.S. states and the rest of the world recognize that devastating and costly climate impacts are mounting rapidly, and collective global action remains the only viable path to secure a livable future for our children and grandchildren. Withdrawal from the global climate convention will only serve to further isolate the United States and diminish its standing in the world following a spate of deplorable actions that have already sent our nation’s credibility plummeting, jeopardized ties with some of our closest historical allies, and made the world far more unsafe,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director and lead economist for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

She said the administration has ignored science and harmed Americans.

“The Trump administration’s shameless lies about the scientific realities of climate change, as well as its attacks on climate and clean energy policies and federal agencies, are deeply harmful to the interests of people in the United States. This administration remains cruelly indifferent to the unassailable facts on climate while pandering to fossil fuel polluters,” Cleetus added.

Economic and Strategic Costs

David Widawsky of the World Resources Institute warned that the withdrawal would weaken US global influence.

“Pulling out of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is a strategic blunder that gives away American advantage for nothing in return. The 30-year-old agreement is the foundation of international climate cooperation. Walking away doesn’t just put America on the sidelines — it takes the U.S. out of the arena entirely. American communities and businesses will lose economic ground as other countries capture the jobs, wealth, and trade created by the booming clean-energy economy,” said David Widawsky, Director, World Resources Institute, US.

However, he said global climate action would continue without the US.

“Despite today’s action, global climate diplomacy will not falter. Other nations understand the UNFCCC’s irreplaceable role in driving cooperation and advancing climate solutions the world urgently needs. When countries work together on climate, it saves lives, creates jobs, strengthens economic stability, and builds a more prosperous future,” it added.

US Role in Global Emissions

As of 2022, China ranked as the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter. The United States followed next, with India, Russia, and Japan also among the top emitters.

However, the United States leads on a per-person basis. Its per capita emissions are double those of China and eight times higher than India’s, according to the World Resources Institute.

Unprecedented Exit From UNFCCC

The US has already submitted its intent to leave the Paris climate agreement for the second time. However, the country has never withdrawn from the UNFCCC before.

Every nation in the world belongs to the UNFCCC. Governments adopted the agreement more than 30 years ago. Both Democratic and Republican administrations in the US have supported it until now.

The Union of Concerned Scientists said this step fits a wider pattern. The administration has taken multiple actions to undermine global agreements and ignore international law. These include what it described as an illegal invasion of Venezuela.