U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off his second term in office by issuing an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate accords, a historic agreement to limit global warming to below 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

The order states that it’s the policy of the new administration to put U.S. interests first when it comes to the “development and negotiation of any international agreements with the potential to damage or stifle the American economy.” 

Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, told Reuters that by ignoring opportunities for “massive profits, millions of manufacturing jobs and clean air” from the energy transition, the U.S. risks losing out to competitor economies. At the same time, “climate disasters like droughts, wildfires and superstorms keep getting worse, destroying property and businesses, hitting nation-wide food production, and driving economy-wide price inflation,” Stiell said.

Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute, echoed the warning, saying in a statement that “walking away from the Paris Agreement won’t protect Americans from climate impacts, but it will hand China and the European Union a competitive edge in the booming clean energy economy and lead to fewer opportunities for American workers.”

 He added, “The Paris Agreement remains essential as ever” as the world faces “catastrophic climate impacts,” including recent wildfires and hurricanes in the U.S.

In a statement, Mads Christensen, executive director of Greenpeace International, said, “The world has moved far beyond the politics of denial and delay and abandoning the Paris Agreement will only isolate the US as other countries move ahead.” 

He said the U.S. withdrawing will make things tougher, but the agreement is “resilient,” supported by nearly every country in the world. The only other countries not party to the Paris Agreement are Iran, Libya and Yemen.

Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said that as one of the world’s largest historical carbon emitters, the U.S. should support zero-carbon efforts.

“President Trump is skirting that responsibility. Worst yet, such a move will only encourage other leaders to follow suit,” he said, calling the move “reckless and destructive.”

O’Brien cited a Gallup survey showing that two-thirds of Americans are concerned about climate change. “State and local governments will continue to step up to fill the gap left by the Trump administration and deliver the climate action that their constituents are demanding,” he said.

 WRI’s Dasgupta similarly said Americans will continue to support clean energy incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act.

 The U.S. previously withdrew from the Paris Agreement during Trump’s first term, before rejoining under Joe Biden. But its absence during that time damaged both progress on climate action, especially financing, and U.S. credibility as a leader on climate issues.

Banner image of U.S. President Donald Trump signing post-inaugural documents. Image by Office of Speaker Mike Johnson via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).