President Trump signed an executive order Monday night officially beginning the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.
The newly sworn-in president signed the order during an inaugural event at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and a memo earlier in the day confirmed it would be one of the president's first executive actions. followed. Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement during his first term, completing the process in 2020, and then-President Biden rejoined the agreement in his first year in office.
Once the multi-year process is complete, the United States will be one of the few countries not party to the deal, along with Iran, Libya and Yemen. The non-binding agreement includes commitments between member countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, the main cause of climate change, to avoid warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages. is included.
Withdrawing from the agreement is expected to be one of President Trump's first actions after taking office, and is expected to focus primarily on energy and environmental policy. President Trump has vowed to undo a number of Biden's climate change measures, including limits on offshore drilling along the East and West Coasts. The new president also said he would block new approvals for offshore wind projects and take steps to reverse the Biden administration's freeze on new exports of liquefied natural gas.
President Trump's initial actions are a near reversal from President Biden's early days in office, when he announced rejoining the Paris climate accord, blocking approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, and suspending new oil and gas leases on public lands. be.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, condemned the order in a statement Monday night.
“Actions speak louder than words, and the actions President Trump took today will forever be remembered as the opening salvo of a presidency dedicated to corporate greed, environmental destruction, and reckless worsening of the climate crisis,” Huffman said. Deaf,” he said.
