The United States is pulling out of the UN treaty that underpins international cooperation on climate change, along with several other global bodies. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday suspending Washington's participation in UN agencies, commissions and advisory panels focused on climate, labour, migration and other issues his administration describes as promoting "woke" initiatives. This means the US will withdraw from 66 international organizations including the UN climate treaty framework, marking the most extensive retreat from global cooperation in its modern history. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the institutions were "redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation's sovereignty." The US joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, and Congress ratified in 1992, when George H.W. Bush was in the White House. The agreement does not require the US to cut fossil fuels or pollution, but rather sets a goal of stabilizing the amount of climate pollution in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system. It also set up a process for negotiations between countries that have come to be known as the annual UN climate summits. It was under the UNFCCC's auspices that the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in 1995, and the Paris Agreement in 2015 — two monumental moments of global cooperation and progress toward limiting harmful climate pollution. In addition, the agreement requires the submission of an annual national climate pollution inventory, which the Trump administration notably skipped this year. The exit from the climate treaty, and a slew of other international agencies, is another step back from the US on international cooperation. With Wednesday's move, the US will now become the first country to withdraw from the climate treaty, since virtually every country is a member, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. Trump's latest decision drew sharp criticism from experts and former Washington officials. US climate envoy and former Secretary of State John Kerry blasted the move as an expected one, yet damaging to American interests globally, calling it "a gift to China and a get out of jail free card to countries and polluters who want to avoid responsibility." Gina McCarthy, former White House national climate adviser, said the decision was "shortsighted, embarrassing and foolish." She warned the US was forfeiting its ability to influence trillions of dollars in climate investments and policies. Climate scientist Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project tracking global emissions, said the withdrawal "gives other nations the excuse to delay their own actions and commitments" on reducing greenhouse gases. The US will also exit the UN Population Fund, which provides sexual and reproductive health services worldwide. Trump cut funding to the agency during his first term over Republican accusations that it participated in coercive abortion practices in China, claims a 2022 State Department review found no evidence to support. Other organisations on the withdrawal list include the Carbon Free Energy Compact, United Nations University, International Cotton Advisory Committee, International Tropical Timber Organisation, Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation and International Lead and Zinc Study Group. The administration has already suspended support for the World Health Organization, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, the UN Human Rights Council and UNESCO. It has adopted what officials describe as an "à la carte" approach to UN funding, supporting only operations aligned with Trump's agenda. Daniel Forti, head of UN affairs at the International Crisis Group, said the approach represents "the crystallisation of the US approach to multilateralism, which is 'my way or the highway'". The shift marks a departure from how both Republican and Democratic administrations historically engaged with the UN. The world body has responded with staffing and programme cuts, while numerous nongovernmental organisations have closed projects after Trump slashed foreign assistance through USAID. Trump administration officials said they want to focus resources on expanding US influence in UN standard-setting bodies where the US competes with China, including the International Telecommunications Union, International Maritime Organisation, and International Labour Organisation. The withdrawals come as Trump has rattled allies and adversaries with military actions including the capture of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and threats to seize Greenland. — Agencies
