Trump pulls US from Paris climate accord for second time

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order withdrawing the US again from the 2015 Paris Agreement, hurting global efforts to combat a warming climate.

The move would leave the world’s largest industrial nation among four countries not party to the voluntary agreement, joining Iran, Libya, and Yemen.

The US will now have to wait at least one year before it can officially exit the pact, which is not a legally binding treaty.

After his inauguration, Trump told a rally in the nation's capital that by withdrawing, the US would save $1trn without saying how he arrived at that number.

He repeated longstanding assertions that the pact places the US at an economic disadvantage as it agreed to progressively slash greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) at the expense of future economic well-being and growth.

China, meanwhile, the world's largest emitter, is spewing carbon that get carried across the Pacific Ocean and degrades US air quality, according to Trump. China expects its GHG emissions to peak at the end of this decade and achieve net-zero before 2060.

Trump also contends that the transition toward cleaner sources that Joe Biden, who left office today, sought to accelerate resulted in higher energy prices for ordinary Americans and hamstrung the US economy.

"Climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation," the executive order said.

After taking office in 2017, Trump took similar executive action to exit the Paris accord.

The withdrawal process dragged on for most of his four year term because nations were required to make an initial three-year commitment after the accord was opened for signature in April 2016.

Under Biden, the US rejoined following an executive order he signed 20 January 2021, his first day in office.

The Paris Agreement seeks to keep the increase in global surface temperature to below 2 °C (3.6 °F) above pre-industrial levels, and preferably only 1.5 °C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

According to scientists, 2024 was the hottest year on record, with global average temperature above the 1.5 °C target.

Trump is focusing on expanding crude oil and natural gas production in the belief that this strategy will help the US achieve energy "dominance"- self-sufficiency at home with surpluses available for export to help allied nations, strengthen US economic competitiveness, and give it greater geopolitical clout.

Later at the White House, he signed two related executive orders. The first would open drilling in several regions of Alaska, while the other requires executive branch departments and agencies to review all policies and rules that "burden" domestic energy resource development.

Executive orders are unilateral directives that enable presidents to shape policy and direct their administrations outside of the legislative process. They can be a powerful tool for those purposes if consistent with statutory or constitutional requirements.

A president can also revoke or modify an executive order without delay issued earlier in the same term or do so for those issued by the prior administration.

Both Congress and courts can modify or nullify the legal effect of an executive order. Congress can do this with passage of legislation or using its appropriations authority to directly deny funds to implement it or in part.

There is also the court of public opinion. If a president goes too far and fast with executive orders, the cost could be lost political support.