In a seismic shift for global climate policy, former US President Donald Trump's memorandum of January 7, 2026, has triggered a full-scale American retreat from international environmental cooperation. The directive mandates the US withdrawal from a staggering 66 international organisations, dealing a potentially crippling blow to multilateral efforts to combat climate change and leaving developing nations like India in a precarious position.
The Scale of the Withdrawal: Funding and Science at Risk
The broad-based exit encompasses 31 UN entities, including the core UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It also includes 35 other bodies such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). This move ends US participation in critical global processes including emissions reporting, COP negotiations, and climate finance.
The financial fallout is immediate and vast. The US reneging on its commitments is projected to leave a $100 billion hole in climate financing, a gap Europe cannot fill alone, especially while managing post-conflict recovery in Ukraine. For India, a $2.5 billion pledge from the GCF for coastal defences and Himalayan glacier projects is now in limbo. Scientifically, IPCC reports will be weakened without US contributions, and the US will forfeit its voice in shaping global Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
India's Acute Vulnerability and Forced Pivot
India, home to 1.4 billion people and topping the Climate Risk Index, is on the front lines. With millions displaced by catastrophic floods and killer heatwaves undermining fragile economies, the loss of US-backed technical assistance and finance is a severe blow. IRENA's role in helping reduce India's solar tariffs by 85% since 2010 highlights what is at stake. Furthermore, advanced US technology in battery storage and green hydrogen, previously shared via UN platforms, drove India's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, which attracted $25 billion in FDI.
The message to the private sector is clear: multilateral support is crumbling. This is compounded by a 7% rupee depreciation, raising borrowing costs for green projects. Geopolitically, India finds its strategy on trade-related climate issues at the WTO weakened.
From Crisis to Opportunity: The Rise of South-South Cooperation
This retreat underscores a harsh truth: the Global South cannot depend on the whims of US politics. Historically responsible for less than 20% of emissions, these nations bear the brunt of impacts. The difficulty, however, is forging a new path. India is now looking to strengthen trilateral forums like India-EU (minus the US) and climate agreements within BRICS.
The most promising avenue is the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a "South-South" movement with over 150 members aiming to mobilise $1 trillion in solar investments by 2030. Domestically, India's $120 billion green budget for 2026 promotes self-reliance in electrolysers and EVs. The crisis amplifies the need to pressure the EU and Japan to double their pledges and to use forums like the G20 to achieve "finance without borders."
As Anjal Prakash, research director at Bharti Institute of Public Policy, ISB, notes, the climate crisis does not wait for the hegemon. The US exit reveals the precarious nature of multilateralism, but for India and the Global South, adaptation and self-reliant cooperation are now conditions for survival.
