U.S. withdrawal from Paris Agreement climate treaty

Following up on President Trump's 2017 statement that the United States would withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, this week the U.S. began the formal process of withdrawal from the international climate accord.

On December 12, 2015, the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted Decision 1/CP.21, adopting the Paris Agreement under that convention. The Paris Agreement requires all signatory nations "to undertake and communicate ambitious efforts" as "nationally determined contributions to the global response to climate change." In 2016, the United States and other nations signed the agreement and became parties, for a total of 195 signatory nations as of mid-2017.

But on June 1, 2017, U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced that the country would withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Under Article 28 of the Paris Agreement, a signatory may withdraw from the agreement one year after sending a withdrawal notification to the depositary, but can only give notice at least three years after joining. On August 4, 2019, the U.S. representative to the United Nations gave official notice that "that the United States intends to exercise its right to withdraw from the Agreement... as soon as it is eligible to do so."

This withdrawal process formally began on November 4, 2019, with an official notice that withdrawal shall take effect for the United States of America on November 4, 2020, the earliest date possible for withdrawal under the Agreement.

As described in a contemporaneous press statement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, "On the U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement", "President Trump made the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement because of the unfair economic burden imposed on American workers, businesses, and taxpayers by U.S. pledges made under the Agreement.  The United States has reduced all types of emissions, even as we grow our economy and ensure our citizens’ access to affordable energy.  Our results speak for themselves:  U.S. emissions of criteria air pollutants that impact human health and the environment declined by 74% between 1970 and 2018.  U.S. net greenhouse gas emissions dropped 13% from 2005-2017, even as our economy grew over 19 percent."