In a sweeping move that reshapes America's role on the world stage, President Donald Trump has directed the United States to exit dozens of international organizations. This decision, announced by the White House on Wednesday, targets 66 bodies deemed contrary to national interests and accelerates a broader disengagement from the United Nations system.
Core Climate Agreements Torn Up
The directive marks one of the most significant pullbacks from multilateral cooperation in modern US history. Among the most consequential exits is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This 1992 treaty, ratified under President George H. W. Bush, is the foundational legal architecture for all major global climate agreements, including the Paris Accord.
This action goes beyond the previously announced withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, severing US ties with the core system governing international climate cooperation. The memorandum also orders a withdrawal from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN's paramount authority for assessing climate science for governments worldwide.
President Trump, who has centred fossil fuels in his domestic economic agenda, has repeatedly questioned climate science. He labelled it a "hoax" during a UN summit last September. The legal path for this withdrawal is complex, as the US Constitution outlines how to enter treaties but is silent on the process for leaving them, potentially inviting future legal challenges.
A Broader Retreat from Global Governance
The climate-related exits are part of a wider pattern. Mirroring actions from his first term, Trump has again withdrawn the US from UNESCO, which it had rejoined under President Joe Biden. The administration has also pulled out of the World Health Organization and slashed foreign aid, forcing UN refugee and food programmes to scale back operations.
Other organizations listed for exit include:
- The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
- UN Oceans and UN Water bodies
- The UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
- The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Reactions: Condemnation and Justification
The decision has drawn fierce criticism from environmental and scientific groups. Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists stated, "President Trump's withdrawal... is a new low and yet another sign that this authoritarian, anti-science administration is determined to sacrifice people's well-being and destabilize global cooperation."
In contrast, Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the move on social media platform X. He framed it as fulfilling a campaign pledge, stating the withdrawals stop the US from "subsidizing globalist bureaucrats who act against our interests" and reaffirmed that the "Trump Administration will always put America and Americans first."
This move crystallizes a longstanding hostility from President Trump towards the United Nations. In a speech to the UN General Assembly last September, he accused the organization of failing to live up to its potential. The full impact of this historic retrenchment from international bodies will unfold in the years to come, setting a new precedent for US foreign policy.
