U.S. will withdraw from climate pact, Trump announces

President Trump announcing withdrawal from Paris climate accord

CLIMATE CONTROL President Donald Trump announced June 1 that the United States will leave the Paris climate accord, calling it “simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States.”

The White House/YouTube

President Donald Trump announced on June 1 that the United States will pull out of the Paris climate accord.

In signing the 2015 Paris agreement, the United States, along with 194 other countries, pledged to curb greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming. But Trump — who has called climate change a “hoax” despite scientific evidence to the contrarypromised during his campaign that he would withdraw from the Paris accord.

“The agreement is a massive redistribution of the United States’ wealth to other countries,” Trump said. “As of today, the United States will cease all implementation of the nonbinding Paris accord and the draconian financial and economic burdens [it] imposes on our country.” This includes making further payments to the Green Climate Fund, set up to help developing countries battle and cope with climate change. The United States has already paid $1 billion of the $3 billion it pledged to the fund.  

Trump did leave the door open to reentering the Paris accord under revised terms or signing an entirely new climate agreement.

Previously the staff writer for physical sciences at Science News, Maria Temming is the assistant editor at Science News Explores. She has bachelor's degrees in physics and English, and a master's in science writing.

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