Donald Trump views the fight against climate change with the same contempt he does multilateralism. The US president’s move to begin the process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is a severe blow to both. It is out of step with the broadening international consensus on the need for bold action to reduce carbon emissions, and will make it more difficult to convince the remaining waverers.
Mr Trump has long been critical of the accord, which aims to limit global warming to “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels. He has argued that the need to cut carbon emissions will harm the US, to the benefit of China, which the accord allows to increase emissions for some years yet. But the US withdrawal will only make it harder to hold China and others to their obligations. It is another example of the president’s simple mindset of a zero-sum world of winners and losers.
The withdrawal will come into effect on November 4 2020, the day after the next presidential election. While in 2016 climate change was treated as a peripheral issue, this year’s Democratic frontrunners have all produced climate plans. Some senior Republicans say the president’s rhetoric risks putting off younger voters. Many US local and state governments are pressing ahead with emission reduction plans. Nonetheless, climate change is a problem for which consensus between world leaders will be key.