The US has formally withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement, two-and-a-half years after President Donald Trump announced plans to pull out of the world’s most ambitious environmental pact.
The exit of the second-biggest global carbon dioxide emitter from the 189-nation accord is a milestone in a presidency that has pushed through a weakening of environmental regulations and voiced support for the fossil fuel sector. Mr Trump has described the pact as a deal that “disadvantages the US to the exclusive benefit of other countries”.
The US, under then President Barack Obama, played a central role in developing the 2015 accord, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2C.
The US exit, the culmination of a bureaucratic process that began a year ago, will be completed automatically and is not depended on the result of Tuesday’s presidential election, which remains uncertain.
However, if Democratic challenger Joe Biden becomes president, the US could rejoin the Paris accord quickly. Mr Biden has said he would do so on his first day in office.
“If Biden wins, then the fact that the withdrawal became final on November 4 really won’t matter,” said Todd Stern, who was the top US climate negotiator during the Obama administration. “If Trump wins a second term, then it will have much more lasting impact.”
The US is the only country that has formally left the Paris accord, although several other nations including Brazil have talked about quitting.
Signatories of the Paris accord include China, which announced in September that it would try to become carbon neutral by 2060. Japan and South Korea have also announced net zero targets in recent weeks.
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Mr Biden has promised a $2tn climate stimulus package, and said he would introduce a target of net zero emissions for the US by 2050. He will also aim to make electricity generation emission-free by 2035, which would Shutter coal and gas-fired power stations.
During his term, Mr Trump has focused on loosening environmental regulations, including watering down vehicle emissions standards set by the Obama administration.
“If Trump wins, it is likely that not much will change regarding their stance on climate right away,” said Sarah Ladislaw, director of the climate change programme at the Center for International and Strategic Studies.
“It is quite likely that other countries with ambitious emissions reduction targets, like the EU and China, will try to influence US behaviour through cross-border carbon tariffs and a push to influence the global financial system to incorporate climate considerations,” she added.
The UK and Italy, which are hosting the next round of climate talks, known as COP26, in Glasgow in November 2021, are waiting for the outcome of the US election to finalise their strategy for the upcoming negotiations.
Contentious issues include creating global carbon markets — which a Biden administration would support — and increasing the level of climate donations from rich countries to poor countries.
Rachel Kyte, dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and previously clean energy adviser to the UN secretary-general, said the US withdrawal from the Paris accord was a setback.
“The withdrawal has done lasting damage to the way the rest of the world views the US as a reliable partner, not just on climate but on other issues of global co-operation,” she said.
However she added that state-level climate commitments, combined with falling prices for renewable energy, had helped to mitigate the worst effects of the Trump administration’s anti-climate policies, in terms of emissions of carbon dioxide.
Source: Economy - ft.com
