A view shows a protest projection set up by Greenpeace activists onto the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin on January 21, 2025 against Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
On Monday (January 20, 2025), the first day of his second Presidency, Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the historic 2015 Paris climate agreement.
The withdrawal of the world’s second largest polluter would further undermine the losing battle to keep global emissions in line to prevent global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5° C, and the future of renewable energy, say experts.
In 2016, when Mr. Trump won the election and had moved to withdraw the U.S. from the pact, the exit did not formally take place, thanks to the way the Paris Agreement rules were framed.
However, this time, the U.S. can exit within a year of formally conveying this to the UN, which Mr. Trump did on Monday.
“It remains to be seen how matters will play out this time. Despite President Trump’s withdrawal, there have been large delegations of U.S. observers who have participated in every climate meet and play a significant role. Should Trump bar their participation in future meets things would be different,” T. Jayaraman, Senior Fellow, Climate Change, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, told The Hindu .
Given Mr. Trump’s support for oil and gas drilling, experts say a greater cause of concern was over what his second term would hold for investments in renewable technology.
“Multilateral Development Banks are unlikely to continue focusing on climate finance, which is essential for developing countries. Given the veto the U.S. holds in the World Bank, it may force the World Bank to move away from climate financing,” said Labanya Jena, sustainable finance specialist.
Other experts have warned of ecological consequences. “The bigger risk is the exploitation of sensitive regions such as Alaska, which are detrimental to global climate stability,” said Manjeet Puri, of The Energy Resources Institute.
Published – January 22, 2025 01:06 am IST