Donald Trump Withdraws the United States from 66 Organizations, Including a Key Climate Treaty

On Wednesday, January 7, Donald Trump launched a new assault on climate diplomacy by ordering the United States to withdraw from a treaty and the scientific committee on climate, among dozens of organizations deemed no longer serving 'American interests.'

The decree signed by the American president mandates the withdrawal from a total of 66 organizations, about half of which are linked to the UN, as announced by the White House. Among these is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the foundational treaty for all other international climate agreements, established in 1992 during the Earth Summit in Rio.

It was under the UNFCCC that the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, which Trump withdrew from a second time upon his return to the White House a year ago. During his first term, he had also exited the Paris Agreement but did not withdraw from the UNFCCC, allowing the United States to continue participating in annual climate conferences.

This additional withdrawal is 'another sign that this authoritarian and anti-science administration is determined to sacrifice public well-being and destabilize international cooperation,' lamented Rachel Cleetus from the Union of Concerned Scientists in an interview with AFP.

'Clean and Beautiful' Coal

The decree also orders the United States to withdraw from the UN's climate science expert committee (IPCC), a reference point for climate science, as well as from other organizations dedicated to protecting the planet, such as the International Renewable Energy Agency, the Union for Conservation of Nature, and UN-Water.

In September, from the podium of the UN General Assembly, Trump sparked strong reactions by directly attacking climate science, labeling global warming as 'the greatest scam in our history' and praising 'clean and beautiful' coal.

While the Trump administration also regularly targets the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by UN member states to improve humanity's future, such as combating global warming and gender equality, the decree published on Wednesday also orders the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations Population Fund. Washington had already announced several months ago that it would cut funding to this agency specializing in maternal and child health.

Also targeted is the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), whose head, Rebeca Grynspan, is a candidate to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN Secretary-General.

Source: France 24