Trump to withdraw from Paris climate agreement, White House says

Trump administration withdraws U.S. from Paris climate agreement, aligning with Iran, Libya, and Yemen, reflecting skepticism about global warming.

President Donald Trump will once again withdraw the United States from the Paris climate deal, the White House said on Monday (January 20, 2025), removing the world's biggest historic emitter from global efforts to fight climate change for the second time in a decade.

The decision would place the United States alongside Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries in the world outside the 2015 pact, in which governments agreed to limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

The announcement, in a document from the White House, reflects Mr. Trump’s skepticism about global warming, which he has called a hoax, and fits in with his broader agenda to unfetter U.S. oil and gas drillers from regulation so they can maximize output.

Follow Trump inauguration LIVE updates on January 20 here

The United States is already the world’s top producer of oil and natural gas thanks to a years-long drilling boom in Texas, New Mexico and elsewhere fueled by fracking technology and strong global prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mr. Trump also withdrew the U.S. from the Paris deal during his first term in office, though the process took years and was immediately reversed by the Biden presidency in 2021. The withdrawal this time around is likely to take less time — as little as a year — because Mr. Trump will not be bound by the deal’s initial three-year commitment.

This time could also be more damaging to global climate efforts, said Paul Watkinson, a former climate negotiator and senior policy advisor for France.