US President Donald Trump holds a message to the United Nations stating the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump He pledges To withdraw from The historic Paris climate agreement For a second time, it creates a leadership vacuum that other countries could benefit from, according to the UN's top climate official.
Trump on Monday signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the world's largest coordinated effort to address rising temperatures. He also declared a “national energy emergency” to scale back many environmental regulations under Biden and pledged to increase fossil fuel production.
He ordered withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, which was widely expectedfollowed by A A similar move by the first Trump administration in 2017 It deals a strong blow to global efforts to protect the environment.
The 2015 Paris Agreement is a framework designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to “well below 2, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels” in the long term.
“We've been here before,” UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Steele said during a CNBC-moderated panel at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
Steele said the main difference between Trump's 2017 decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and Monday's executive order is the “significant momentum” to combat… Global warming In the intervening eight years.
“The world is going through an unstoppable energy transition,” Steele said. “Last year alone, more than $2 trillion was invested in this transition compared to $1 trillion in fossil fuels, so the signal is quite clear.”
He added: “Anyone who steps back from that great forward momentum creates a void that others will fill and will benefit from. So, I think that's the kind of framing context that we find ourselves in 14 hours after that statement.”
Gulls fly in front of the offshore oil and gas platform Esther on January 5, 2025 in Seal Beach, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Climate scientists condemned Trump ordered the United States to be removed from the Paris Agreement, noting that the pledge comes just weeks after American and global scientific agencies confirmed that the planet has witnessed a crisis. The hottest year on record is 2024.
Trump described the climate crisis as “One of the major scamsHe said on Monday that he intends to boost oil and gas production during his second four-year term.
“We're going to dig, baby, dig,” Trump said in his inaugural address. He also pledged that the United States would usher in a new era of oil and gas exploration.
“It's time to talk about it less.”
Giant European insurance companies downplayed the immediate impact of Trump's climate rollback.
“It's harder, but the gentleman has done it before, and the world knows he has to improve,” said CEO Oliver Butt. AllianzHe told CNBC:Squawk Europe FundIn Davos on Tuesday.
He added: “We have reached the limits of the planet, and everyone knows that. Maybe it is time to talk about it less but to do more. At least that is what we are trying to do in our industry.”
Zurich Insurance CEO Mario Greco rejected the idea that Trump's push to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement constitutes a major political event.
“I think we have to admit that the Paris Agreement did not achieve any of the plans, ambitions and goals that were expected,” Greco said on Tuesday.
“It's also true that we're looking for other ways to achieve the temperature reduction that we desperately need. I mean, technology needs to help. Without technology, we're not going to make this planet any colder than it is today or it will be soon, so no, no,” he added. “I think this is the big event.”
