The United States again withdraws from the Paris accord
A new administration once more pulled the country out of the global climate pact, dismaying allies.
The United States once again moved to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement as a new administration took office this January, for the second time pulling the world's largest historical emitter out of the global pact and dismaying allies and climate advocates around the world.
The decision, among a flurry of early executive actions, reversed the re-entry of four years earlier and signalled a sharp retreat from international climate cooperation, as the administration moved to roll back a range of climate and clean energy policies and to boost domestic production of oil and gas.
The repeated exit and re-entry over successive administrations underscored the vulnerability of long-term climate commitments to the swings of domestic politics, and raised fresh concerns among international partners about the reliability of American pledges.
As before, the practical and symbolic effects were significant but not total. Many US states, cities and businesses signalled their intention to continue pursuing emissions reductions regardless of federal policy, and the economic momentum behind clean energy, now often the cheapest option, continued in many areas.
Still, the withdrawal removed the diplomatic and financial weight of the United States from collective climate efforts at a critical juncture, complicating international negotiations and potentially slowing global progress. It also raised the stakes for other major players, including Europe and China, to maintain momentum. For a world striving to limit warming, the renewed American retreat was a significant setback, and a reminder of how contested climate policy remained in the country's politics.