On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from 66 international organisations. The President signed an executive order citing that being a part of these treaties is not in the best interest of the US.
One of the organisations is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, aka UNFCCC. Signed in 1992, the treaty serves as a guiding principle for the world to combat climate change and acts as a foundation for the Paris Agreement.
With Trump’s executive order, the US has become the only country in the world not to be a part of the organization. While MAGA enthusiasts are raving about how the move will protect American interests, experts are warning otherwise.
🇺🇸 With the US pulling out of the #UNFCCC, @realDonaldTrump isn’t just leaving a treaty, he’s leaving the world behind. Climate change doesn’t wait for politics. This decision undermines global cooperation, hands a gift to polluters, and risks our own future. #ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/4HBZ7lRkR8
— Mithika Mwenda, PhD (@mithika_mwenda) January 8, 2026
Gina McCarthy, who worked in Joe Biden’s administration as a climate adviser, has called the decision ‘foolish’ and ‘shortsighted.’ She said, “As the only country in the world not a part of the UNFCCC treaty, the Trump administration is throwing away decades of US climate change leadership and global collaboration.”
McCarthy added, “This administration is forfeiting our country’s ability to influence trillions of dollars in investments, policies, and decisions that would have advanced our economy and protected us from costly disasters wreaking havoc on our country.”
By exiting the treaty, the US will lose its influence on global climate rules. The country also risks falling behind in green technology, while the UNFCCC suffers a blow due to reduced funds from a powerful member. The move might be ringing alarm bells for the world, but not for Trump, who has time and again called climate change a ‘hoax.’
On the other hand, the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit international environmental advocacy group, has hinted that Trump’s decision might backfire soon.
Manish Bapna, the President of the group, said in an official statement, “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 UNFCCC underpins global climate action. It brings countries together to support climate, reduce emissions, adapt to climate change, and track progress. The decision by the world’s largest economy and second-largest emitter to retreat from it is regrettable and unfortunate.
— Wopke Hoekstra (@WBHoekstra) January 8, 2026
Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, echoed similar thoughts in a post on X and wrote, “The UNFCCC underpins global climate action. It brings countries together to support climate, reduce emissions, adapt to climate change, and track progress. The decision by the world’s largest economy and second-largest emitter to retreat from it is regrettable and unfortunate.”
But the Trump administration seems unbothered. Apart from the UNFCCC, the government has withdrawn from several other international organizations that directly or indirectly affect climate change, pollution, and global warming.
These include the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Renewable Energy Agency, International Solar Alliance, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, and Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century.
This is not the first time that Trump has decided to exit a UN-backed alliance. In July last year, the administration announced its decision to leave the United Nations’ educational and cultural agency UNESCO, citing that it was too ‘woke.’
