The United States has begun the process of its formal withdrawal from the 188-membered Paris Climate Agreement that was signed in 2015 by leaders from 188 countries in France's capital. The agreement commits the member countries to cut emissions to limit the rise of global temperature within 2C and attempt to restrict it further within 1.5C as compared to pre-industrial standards. Fulfilling the first step for the formal withdrawal from the agreement, the US has sent a formal notification to the United Nations.
Withdrawal from the 2015 agreement was one of Trump's campaign promises. A few months in office, he announced USA's withdrawal in 2017. But according to the UN rules, the official procedure couldn't start before November 4, 2019. The process will last for a year and will conclude after the United States elects its next president in 2020. The actual fate of it will be decided by the elections. If, in case Trump doesn't get a second term, then his successor will decide the future of the climate agreement as well as the that of the global climate scenario, given the fact that the country is the second-largest producer of Green House Gases (GHGs) in the world, with its total contribution of 15% to the world's GHGs emissions.
Vice President Mike Pence in a statement on Monday informed about the reasons for the withdrawal. He said that the agreement imposed an unnecessary economic burden on the US and that the country will follow "a realistic and pragmatic model" using "all energy sources and technologies cleanly". Meanwhile, House of Rep Speaker Nancy Pelosi, took to Twitter to put out her statement regarding "another disastrous decision that sells our children's future"
Trump's decision has the potential to derail the world's resolve to fight climate change, even if the other world leaders have renewed their commitment to the deal. The United States is not only one of the chief emitters of GHGs, but it also provides financial aid to other countries to fight the same.
