UN Climate Chief Slams Trump’s Withdrawal From Key Climate Treaty, Warns of Economic and Global Fallout

The United Nations’ top climate official on Thursday, January 8, led a wave of international criticism against US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from one of the world’s most important climate treaties, calling the move a “colossal own goal” that would ultimately harm America’s economy and global standing.

The backlash came a day after Trump signed a presidential memorandum ordering the US to pull out of 66 international organisations and treaties, nearly half of which are affiliated with the United Nations. The administration said the bodies were “contrary to the interests of the United States.”

At the centre of the controversy is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the foundational treaty that underpins all major global climate agreements, including the Paris Agreement.

‘Colossal Own Goal’

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said the decision would backfire on the US, both economically and strategically.

“It is a colossal own goal which will leave the US less secure and less prosperous,” Stiell said in a statement, adding that the withdrawal would “only harm the US economy, jobs and living standards.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed the concern, saying he “regrets” the US decision to withdraw from multiple international institutions, though he did not single out any specific organisation.

“The United Nations has a responsibility to deliver for those who depend on us, and we will continue to carry out our mandates with determination,” Guterres said, while also reminding member states of their legal obligation to fund the UN’s budget.

Global Isolation Fears

Climate experts and policy analysts warned that Trump’s move risks further isolating the US on the global stage at a time when international cooperation is critical to addressing climate change.

“It’s critical the US is a participant in and is actively trying to reduce climate change—it’s the world’s largest economy and the world’s biggest historical emitter,” Jake Schmidt of the Natural Resources Defense Council told AFP. He noted that the US would become the first of the UNFCCC’s 198 parties to withdraw from the treaty.

Adopted in 1992, the UNFCCC commits countries to work together to curb greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. European Union climate chief Wopke Hoekstra called the US decision “regrettable and unfortunate,” particularly given the country’s outsized role in global emissions.

Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed climate science as a “hoax,” has placed fossil fuels at the centre of his domestic energy policy.

More Withdrawals, Legal Questions

The administration’s stance was underscored by its absence from November’s UN climate summit in Brazil, held under UNFCCC auspices. On Thursday, the US Treasury Department also announced Washington’s withdrawal from the UN’s Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest multilateral climate finance mechanism.

The UNFCCC was adopted 34 years ago at the Rio Earth Summit and was approved by the US Senate with a unanimous 92–0 vote during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. While the US Constitution outlines how treaties are ratified, it is silent on how they can be exited, a legal grey area that could prompt court challenges.

Trump has already withdrawn the US from the Paris climate agreement since returning to office, mirroring a move he made during his first term from 2017 to 2021. That decision was later reversed by his successor, Joe Biden.

“A future US administration could both rejoin the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement on day one, without needing to go back to the Senate,” Schmidt said, though he acknowledged that such a move would be legally untested and debated among scholars.

‘A Gift to China’

Legal challenges may be on the horizon. Jean Su, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said it was unconstitutional for a president to unilaterally exit a treaty that required Senate approval.

“We are looking at legal options to pursue that line of argument,” she told AFP.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a prominent Trump critic and potential future presidential contender, described the move as a strategic blunder.

“Our brainless president is surrendering America’s leadership on the world stage and weakening our ability to compete in the economy of the future—creating a leadership vacuum that China is already exploiting,” Newsom said.

While China remains the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, it has also emerged as a global leader in renewable energy deployment.

Trump’s memorandum also directs the US to withdraw from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN’s leading body for assessing climate science, along with several other climate-related organisations—moves critics say could further undermine global efforts to address the climate crisis.