Context:

On the first day of his second term as President, Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the United States to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement once again.

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• The US President also signed a letter to the United Nations indicating his intention to withdraw from the 2015 agreement.
• The withdrawal process from the Paris Accord will take one year.
• After exiting, the US will join Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries outside the accord. 
• Earlier in December 2024, the outgoing President Joe Biden submitted a new, ambitious goal on behalf of the US that said the country would cut climate pollution by up to 66% below 2005 levels by 2035. 

Key points of the executive order

• In his executive order, Trump argued that the Paris Agreement was financially burdensome to American taxpayers.
• Trump also cited that US funds were directed toward countries that did not necessarily need or deserve financial aid, according to his administration’s perspective.
• The executive order calls for the immediate cessation of any financial commitments made by the US under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which oversees the Paris Agreement.

Withdrawal Process from the Paris Agreement

• Withdrawal Timeline: Article 28 of the Paris Agreement outlines the process and timeline for a country to withdraw from the treaty. According to it, a country can withdraw from the Paris Agreement at any time after three years from the date on which this Agreement entered into force (2016), by providing written notification to the Depositary.
• Effective Withdrawal: The withdrawal becomes effective one year after the notification is received by the Depositary, or on a later date specified in the withdrawal notification.
• Submission of Withdrawal Notice: The withdrawal notice must be submitted to the Office of Legal Affairs at the UN Headquarters in New York.
• Obligations Until Withdrawal: Until the withdrawal is effective, the country remains part of the Paris Agreement and must fully participate in all related activities (according to the UNFCCC website).

The Paris Agreement & NDCs

• It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. 
• It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP21 in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016.
• Its overarching goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
• The Paris Agreement works on a five-year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate action carried out by countries, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
• NDCs are central to the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals. 
• Each country uses NDCs to outline its plans for reducing emissions and adapting to climate change.