Outrage as Trump pulls United States out of landmark UN climate treaty and dozens of global bodies
US President Donald Trump has triggered international condemnation after announcing the United States will withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the foundational treaty underpinning global cooperation on climate action.
In a presidential memorandum issued on Wednesday, the Trump administration confirmed it would exit the UNFCCC alongside more than 60 international organisations, agencies and commissions, describing them as “contrary to the interests of the United States”.
The decision leaves the US isolated from the international system designed to confront the climate crisis, at a time when global temperatures and climate related disasters are accelerating.
United States
The UNFCCC, agreed 34 years ago and ratified by the US Senate in 1992 under President George H W Bush, forms the legal and diplomatic framework for international climate negotiations. It does not mandate emissions cuts, but commits countries to stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations at levels that would prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.
The treaty also established the process that led to landmark agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, negotiated in 1995 and 2015 respectively.
Every country in the world is currently a party to the UNFCCC. If the US withdrawal stands, it would become the first nation ever to leave the treaty.
Trump has long dismissed climate science as a hoax and, during his presidency, has rolled back clean energy policies while promoting fossil fuel production. He previously withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement on his first day back in office and declined to send a delegation to UN climate talks in Brazil last year.
Sharp criticism from climate leaders
Former Biden climate adviser Gina McCarthy described the move as reckless and humiliating.
“This is a shortsighted, embarrassing and foolish decision,” she said. “The Trump administration is throwing away decades of US climate leadership and forfeiting our ability to influence trillions of dollars in global investment that would have strengthened our economy and protected Americans from costly disasters.”
Manish Bapna, head of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the withdrawal an unforced and self defeating error that would weaken US competitiveness, particularly against China.
“While the US abdicates global leadership, the rest of the world is moving rapidly toward cleaner power,” he said. “This decision hands trillions of dollars in clean energy investment to other countries.”
Withdrawal from climate science bodies
The White House memorandum also confirmed the US would pull out of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Nobel Prize winning group that assesses climate science for governments.
In addition, the US will leave a wide range of environmental and scientific organisations, including the International Renewable Energy Agency, the International Solar Alliance and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Marco Rubio defended the move, saying many of the agreements were dominated by progressive ideology and disconnected from US national interests.
“We will not continue expending resources and diplomatic capital on institutions that conflict with our interests,” Rubio said.
Legal uncertainty and diplomatic fallout
Because the UNFCCC was ratified by the Senate, legal experts say it is unclear whether Trump can unilaterally withdraw from it. Environmental advocates warn the move could make it far harder for a future president to rejoin global climate frameworks.
“Letting this stand could shut the US out of climate diplomacy indefinitely,” said Jean Su of the Center for Biological Diversity.
Former US climate envoy John Kerry said the withdrawal was damaging to American interests.
“This is a gift to China and a free pass to polluters who want to avoid responsibility,” he said.
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Domestic consequences already visible
Scientists warn the climate crisis is already exacting a growing toll on the US economy and public safety. Record numbers of extreme weather disasters are forcing insurers to retreat from high risk states, destabilising housing markets. Global temperature thresholds are expected to be breached, increasing the risk of irreversible impacts.
Sierra Club executive director Loren Blackford pointed to the anniversary of deadly wildfires in California.
“Trump is making clear he has no interest in protecting Americans from the rapidly worsening impacts of the climate crisis,” she said. “This is not leadership, it is cowardice.”
Former vice president Al Gore accused the administration of acting on behalf of fossil fuel interests.
“They have dismantled scientific infrastructure and clean energy investment so billionaires can profit while endangering people at home and abroad,” Gore said.
A sweeping retreat from multilateralism
Beyond climate, the US will withdraw from dozens of international bodies, including the United Nations University, the Carbon Free Energy Compact, the International Tropical Timber Organization, the Pan American Institute of Geography and History, and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies.
The State Department said further reviews of international commitments are ongoing.
The move represents one of the most sweeping retreats from multilateral cooperation in modern US history. Allies fear it could undermine not only global climate efforts, but confidence in Washington’s commitment to international agreements more broadly.
With climate impacts intensifying worldwide, critics warn the decision risks leaving the US isolated as the rest of the world accelerates toward a cleaner energy future.
