This archive report was first published on 5 November 2019.
On November 4, 2020, the United States will officially be out of the Paris climate accord, a move that has been in the works since President Donald Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, negotiated the agreement.
Despite mounting evidence of the reality and impact of climate change, Trump went ahead with the pullout, citing concerns that the accord would disadvantage US businesses.
"It was America that would suffer the straitjacket," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, echoing Trump's 2017 rationale. "It would be quintessentially unfair to the American people and to the American workers."
"It was America that would suffer the straitjacket," Pompeo told the Fox Business network. "It would be quintessentially unfair to the American people and to the American workers." French President Emmanuel Macron, who had tried to persuade Trump to stay in the accord, lamented the decision, saying it made the Franco-Chinese partnership on climate and biodiversity even more necessary. The United States, the number-two emitter of greenhouse gases, is still planning to attend this month's COP climate negotiations in Spain, according to a State Department official. Trump has pledged to turn back environmental regulations, despite a 13 percent US reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 to 2017, even as the economy grew.
