Trump pulls US out of another major UN climate treaty

The Donald J. Trump administration on Wednesday announced plans to withdraw the US from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which would make the US the only nation in the world not part of the main international agreement to slow the effects of climate change. The administration also aims to leave the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and over 60 other UN and international organizations, saying that continuing to support them doesn’t serve US interests. These include the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development; the International Renewable Energy Agency; and the International Energy Agency. The US will also withdraw from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), an international organization that finances climate mitigation in less-developed countries, and step down from the GCF board.“We will not continue expending resources, diplomatic capital, and the legitimizing weight of our participation in institutions that are irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio says in a statement on the withdrawals. Citing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates, gender-equity campaigns, and climate “orthodoxy,” Rubio says that the international science, aid, and peace organizations “actively seek to constrain American sovereignty.”Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, says in a statement that the US is essentially shooting itself in the foot with this decision, which will ultimately decrease the security and prosperity of the country. “While all other nations are stepping forward together, this latest step back from global leadership, climate cooperation, and science can only harm