UK leaders urged to ‘step up’ as Donald Trump takes US out of Paris climate deal
It is the second time Mr Trump has withdrawn the US from the landmark climate change treaty.
UK leaders have been urged to “step up again” as Donald Trump pulls the US out of the international Paris Agreement on climate change.
In one of his first acts as president, Mr Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the landmark agreement, secured in the French capital in 2015, which commits countries to limiting global warming to avoid the most dangerous impacts of rising temperatures.
It is a repeat of the move by Mr Trump, in his first presidency to withdraw the US from the global agreement, which was reversed by Joe Biden as soon as he entered the White House in 2021.
The president has also said he will boost fossil fuel production, cancel efforts to boost ownership of electric cars and end Mr Biden’s climate policy to channel billions of dollars into clean tech such as renewables.
Experts criticised the decision, while campaigners urged the British Government to step up and fill the void in climate action.
But there were also suggestions the withdrawal would not have the impact it did last time, as other countries would continue to exploit the opportunities to boost economies through decarbonising.
Downing Street refused to criticise the move by Mr Trump but stressed the UK’s commitment to the Paris treaty.
Shaun Spiers, executive director at think tank Green Alliance, said: “The world didn’t back away from the Paris Agreement on climate change when Trump did the last time he was in office.
“In fact, the UK took major steps forward, introducing a world leading next zero target.
“Net zero industries already contribute £74 bilion in added value to the UK economy, and the British public think the green economy offers the best opportunities for growth.
“Our leaders must step up again and grasp the opportunity this presents.”
Areeba Hamid, joint executive director at Greenpeace UK, said: “Donald Trump has wasted no time paying back the Big Oil backers who helped bankroll his campaign, but shredding climate legislation and tearing the US out of the Paris Agreement will not make the climate crisis go away.
“Around the world, a global movement is rejecting Trump’s apocalyptic vision and is already fighting back for the planet.”
She pointed to the LA fires and devastating floods in the UK as weather extremes that were a “portent of things to come” if the US president and Big Oil were allowed to dictate the future.
“Now is the time for leaders in the UK and beyond to fill the climate leadership void.
“We need our leaders to make the fossil fuel industry pay for the chaos they’re causing so we can build a safer, greener future for generations to come.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “You know the Prime Minister’s position on the Paris Climate Agreement.
“We’re a member of the climate agreement, we will continue to work with all countries to tackle the urgency of the climate crisis.”
The spokesman added: “I’m not going to provide a running commentary on decisions that are obviously for President Trump, who was elected on a mandate to deliver on these exact pledges he made to the American people.
“When it comes to the UK’s position on these issues, they are well known.”
Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE, described the withdrawal as “extremely disappointing, if not unexpected”.
He said it meant the world’s second largest emitter would be turning its back on the deal in a year when all countries were due to come forward with more ambitious pledges for action ahead of the next UN climate summit in Brazil in November.
“In practice, President Trump is giving up an opportunity to safeguard Americans who are suffering growing damage from climate change, including wildfires that spread more quickly and hurricanes that intensify more quickly and produce heavier rain.
“These impacts are primarily due to greenhouse gas emissions from other countries, and President Trump is surrendering his best chance to persuade them not to create this harm to the United States,” he said.
