Photo taken on Oct. 9, 2023 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
The White House said Monday that Donald Trump, who was inaugurated as the 47th US president, will pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord. Meanwhile, the UN climate chief said that the "door remains open" to the landmark Paris accord, according to media reports.
"President Trump will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord," the White House said in a statement.
"The door remains open to the Paris Agreement, and we welcome constructive engagement from any and all countries," UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said in a statement, insisting the clean energy transition was an opportunity for economic growth.
"Embracing (the global clean energy boom) will mean massive profits, millions of manufacturing jobs and clean air. Ignoring it only sends all that vast wealth to competitor economies, while climate disasters like droughts, wildfires and superstorms keep getting worse, destroying property and businesses, hitting nation-wide food production, and driving economy-wide price inflation. The door remains open to the Paris Agreement, and we welcome constructive engagement from any and all countries," he said.
In his inauguration speech, Trump said he will declare a "national energy emergency," though US is producing more oil now than any other country at any other time, according to CNN. He intends to streamline permitting and review regulations that "impose undue burdens on energy production and use, including mining and processing of non-fuel minerals," according to a list of priorities from Trump's press office.
"The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices," Trump said. "That's why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill."
In response, Canada's Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault said the world needs to collectively continue fighting climate change, no matter what President Donald Trump does in his second term.
"It is deplorable," Guilbeault told reporters of Trump's inaugural promise to leave the Paris Agreement for a second time, according to CBC. "It is quite ironic that the president would do that as California goes through one of the worst forest fire seasons in its history."
Ali Mohamed, chair of the African negotiating team and Kenya's special envoy for climate change said that: "The leadership of the US is critical in mobilizing climate finance, advancing clean energy transitions, and ensuring the equitable implementation of global climate goals. Equally important is the need to promote multilateralism as the foundation for addressing climate change and other global challenges. The African Group underscores its belief that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international platforms remain the most effective avenues for fostering collaboration and accountability."
Meanwhile, President and CEO of World Resources Institute Ani Dasgupta said that: "It simply makes no sense for the US to voluntarily give up political influence and pass up opportunities to shape the exploding green energy market. Sitting on the sidelines also means the United States will have fewer levers to hold other major economies accountable for living up to their commitments."
Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris deal during his first term in 2017, but the process took years and was immediately reversed by the Biden administration in 2021.
Global Times