Trump Administration Fully Abdicates Climate Responsibilities
The UNFCCC departure is “an unforced error for the United States of America.”
WASHINGTON, DC – The Trump administration announced today that it would pull the United States out of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the formal venue for global climate talks.
While the administration has already withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, this action further isolates the United States by excluding it from all international climate discussions and sends a signal of deepening disinterest in addressing the global threat. Today’s action stands as the latest move by the White House to side with fossil fuels interests over efforts to address global pollution problems.
Following is reaction from Manish Bapna, president & CEO of the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“President Trump pulls the United States out of the UNFCCC at the nation’s peril. It is not only self-defeating to let other countries write the global rules of the road for the inevitable transition to clean energy but also to skip out on trillions of dollars in investment, jobs, lower energy costs, and new markets for American clean technologies. That might suit Big Oil, but it is bad for everyone else. This is an unforced error for the United States of America.
“The United States would be the first country to walk away from the UNFCCC. Every other nation is a member, in part because they recognize that even beyond the moral imperative of addressing climate change, having a seat at the table in those negotiations represents an ability to shape massive economic policy and opportunity. A future administration that understands the stakes can rejoin the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change just as Trump decided to pull the country out of it.
“Fortunately, the United States is bigger than Washington. Action from cities, states, the private sector, and other nations will become even more important to help prevent the worst that climate change will throw at us and protect the world’s most vulnerable populations.
“But make no mistake: While the Trump administration is abdicating the United States of America’s global leadership, the rest of the world is continuing to shift to cleaner power sources and take climate action. The Trump administration is ceding the trillions of dollars in investment that the clean energy transition brings to nations willing to follow the science and embrace the cleanest, cheapest sources of energy.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).