President Trump signed an executive order officially beginning the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement Monday evening.
The newly-inaugurated president signed the order at an inauguration event at Washington, D.C.’s Capital One arena, following up on a memo earlier in the day confirming it would be among his first executive actions. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in his first term as well, finalizing the process in 2020 only for then-President Biden to re-enter the agreement in his first year in office.
The multi-year process, when complete, will make the U.S. one of only a handful of countries that are not party to the agreement, along with Iran, Libya and Yemen. The nonbinding agreement includes a commitment among members to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of climate change, to avert warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average.
Withdrawal from the agreement was anticipated to be among Trump’s first actions in office, which are expected to focus in large part on energy and environmental policy. Trump has vowed to undo a number of Biden climate moves, including restrictions on offshore drilling along the east and west coasts. The new president has also said he will take action to block new approvals for offshore wind projects and undo a Biden administration freeze on new exports of liquefied natural gas.
Trump’s initial actions are largely the inverse of Biden’s first days as president, which saw him re-enter the Paris agreement, block the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and announce a temporary pause on new oil and gas leases on public lands.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, condemned the order in a statement Monday evening.
“Actions speak louder than words, and the ones Trump took today will forever be remembered as the opening salvo of a presidency devoted to corporate greed, environmental destruction, and the reckless worsening of the climate crisis,” Huffman said.
