Trump seeks to quickly abandon Paris Agreement

(Baonghean.vn) - US President-elect Donald Trump is seeking to quickly withdraw the US from the global treaty to combat climate change, despite widespread international support for plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

US President-elect Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters.

Since Trump’s election victory, governments from China to small island nations have reaffirmed their support for the Paris Agreement on climate change. Trump, meanwhile, has dismissed global warming as a hoax and vowed to abandon the Paris Agreement, an effort made under President Barack Obama. Reuters reported that Trump’s advisers are considering options for the US to quickly leave the agreement.

Meanwhile, on November 13, US Secretary of State John Kerry affirmed that the Obama administration will do everything possible to implement the Paris Agreement before Trump takes office.

Article 28 of the Paris Agreement stipulates that any country that wishes to withdraw from the Agreement after signing must wait four years. Based on this provision, the earliest date the US could withdraw from the Agreement is November 4, 2020, which is the time of the next US presidential election.

Reuters reported that Trump and his advisers are considering options to abandon the Agreement, including filing a withdrawal based on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted in 1992; invalidating US participation for another year or implementing a presidential order to remove the US signature from the Paris Agreement.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Patricia Espinosa declined to comment on Trump's remarks. She said the United Nations hopes to have a sustainable and constructive relationship with Trump./.

Phuong Thao

(According to Reuters)