Following a campaign promise, Trump – a climate denier who claimed climate change was a „hoax“ committed by China – announced in June 2017 his intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. But despite the president`s statement from the rose garden that „we`re going out,“ it`s not that easy. The withdrawal process requires the agreement to be in force for three years before a country can formally announce its intention to leave. Then he will have to wait a year before leaving the pact. This means that the United States could officially leave on November 4, 2020 at the earliest, one day after the presidential election. Even a formal withdrawal would not necessarily be permanent, experts say; A future president could return to the board in just one month. In addition, countries aim to reach a „global peak in greenhouse gas emissions“ as soon as possible. The deal has been described as an incentive and engine for the sale of fossil fuels. [13] [14] Adaptation issues have been given greater importance in the preparation of the Paris Agreement.
Collective long-term adaptation objectives are included in the agreement and countries are held accountable for their adaptation measures, making adaptation a parallel component of the agreement with mitigation. [46] Adaptation objectives focus on improving adaptive capacity, increasing resilience and limiting vulnerability. [47] On August 4, 2017, the Trump administration sent an official notice to the United Nations that only the processes governing the reporting and review of these objectives in the United States are required by international law. This structure is particularly noteworthy for the United States – since there are no legal mitigation or funding objectives, the agreement is considered an „executive agreement rather than a treaty.“ Since the 1992 UNFCCC treaty received Senate approval, this new agreement does not need new congressional legislation to enter into force. [33] The Convention was drafted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as COP21. The contract was originally signed by 175 countries and included commitments from the world`s largest CO2 emitters: China, the United States and the European Union. Today, according to the World Resources Institute, 189 parties have joined, accounting for 97% of global emissions. President Trump is pulling us out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Each country is responsible for setting its own emission targets. The agreement also includes small countries that are not responsible for large emissions, but often feel the biggest impacts of climate change, such as sea level rise. At the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the Durban Platform (and the ad hoc working group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action) was established with the aim of negotiating a legal instrument for climate action from 2020 onwards. .