President Trump on Wednesday withdrew the United States from 66 international organizations and treaties, a sweeping move signaling a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy and a rejection of multilateral cooperation on issues ranging from climate change to human rights.
A Broad Retreat From Global Partnerships
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The decision impacts groups focused on education, economic development, cybersecurity, and more.
- The U.S. is withdrawing from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
- A presidential memorandum cited that continued participation in these organizations is “contrary to the interests of the United States.”
- Experts warn the move will further isolate the U.S. on critical global issues.
- The administration has previously taken steps to limit scientific research and climate action within the country.
In a presidential memorandum, Trump stated it is “contrary to the interests of the United States to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support to” the organizations. He directed all executive departments and agencies to swiftly “effectuate the withdrawal” from these entities.
What are the potential consequences of the U.S. withdrawing from these international agreements? Experts suggest the move will isolate the nation at a crucial time, particularly regarding climate change. The president had already announced a withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement—an international treaty aiming to limit global warming to under 2 degrees Celsius to avert the most severe effects of climate change.
Climate Leadership Abandoned
The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, established in 1992 and signed by nearly 200 countries, seeks to address climate change through coordinated international action, including reducing planet-warming greenhouse gases. Last year, Trump notably declined to attend or send high-level delegates to the annual U.N. Conferences of the Parties meeting in Brazil, where Gov. Gavin Newsom instead took on a starring role.
Gina McCarthy, a former director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, called withdrawing from the U.N. Framework Convention a “shortsighted, embarrassing, and foolish decision.”
“As the only country in the world not a part of the UNFCCC treaty, the Trump administration is throwing away decades of U.S. climate change leadership and global collaboration,” said McCarthy, who also served as the first White House national climate advisor and is now chair of the America is All In climate coalition.
David Widawsky, director of the World Resources Institute, described the move as a “strategic blunder that gives away American advantage for nothing in return.”
“The 30-year-old agreement is the foundation of international climate cooperation. Walking away doesn’t just put America on the sidelines — it takes the U.S. out of the arena entirely,” Widawsky said.
Undermining Scientific Consensus
On Wednesday, Trump also withdrew the U.S. from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the leading global scientific body studying global warming. The IPCC publishes major assessments every six or seven years, informing climate policy worldwide.
While withdrawing from the IPCC won’t prevent individual U.S. scientists from contributing, the nation will no longer be able to guide the scientific assessments, according to Delta Merner, associate accountability campaign director for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, who has attended previous IPCC meetings.
“Walking away doesn’t make the science disappear, it only leaves people across the United States, policymakers and businesses flying in the dark at the very moment when credible climate information is most urgently needed,” Merner said. “This is a clear attempt to weaken scientific guardrails that protect the public from disinformation, delay and reckless decision-making. Such a move will make it easier for fossil fuel interests to distort the facts while front-line communities pay the price.”
Trump, who received substantial donations from oil and gas companies during his 2024 presidential campaign, has consistently promoted the development of fossil fuels. He has also taken steps to limit scientific research and climate action in the U.S., including efforts to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a leading climate and weather research institution in Boulder, Colo.
Last year, the administration also fired hundreds of scientists working on the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment and removed the website hosting previous assessments.
Other organizations from which Trump withdrew on Wednesday include the International Renewable Energy Agency, the International Solar Alliance, the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research.
According to Manish Bapna, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, the United States is the first nation to withdraw from the U.N. Framework Convention.
“President Trump pulls the United States out of the UNFCCC at the nation’s peril,” Bapna said. “It is not only self-defeating to let other countries write the global rules of the road for the inevitable transition to clean energy, but also to skip out on trillions of dollars in investment, jobs, lower energy costs and new markets for American clean technologies.”
