The Paris agreement is a mostly voluntary climate pact originally written in ways that would both try to reduce warming and withstand the changing political winds in the United States. When the agreement was signed Dec. 12, 2014, then-President Barack Obama called it “the best chance to save the one planet we have.”
In his first hours in office, Trump started the year-long process to withdraw from the pact. This is his second time. The United States joins Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only United Nations countries that are not part of the agreement.
The U.S. withdrawal, though anticipated, sparked strong global reactions. The nation is historically the largest contributor to heat-trapping gases, a key player in international climate negotiations, and the world’s top fossil fuel producer—all factors that make its retreat from the Paris Agreement particularly significant. Critics argue that abandoning the pact undermines global efforts to curb emissions and could encourage other nations to scale back their climate commitments.
What is the Paris Agreement?
The Paris Agreement aims to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, or at least keep it well below 2 degrees Celsius, by reducing emissions from fossil fuels. The pact, established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, traces back to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Since it is not classified as a treaty, U.S. adoption did not require Senate approval.
“The Paris Agreement is a framework, not a stand alone solution,” said Mohamed Adow, founder of PowerShift Africa and a veteran climate negotiations observer. “Tackling climate change is not a pass-or-fail scenario. The Paris Agreement was never a solution itself, just a structure for countries to take action. And in large part that is what countries are doing.”
Is it mandatory?
The Paris Agreement operates as a binding but voluntary framework. Every five years, countries are required to submit plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), outlining how they will reduce emissions of gases like carbon dioxide and methane. These goals are meant to become more ambitious over time, with the next set of pledges due next month.
While countries can make their targets less ambitious, there is no penalty for failing to meet them. Additionally, nations must report their emissions every two years. The agreement also emphasizes that wealthy countries should assist poorer nations in reducing emissions and adapting to climate change, with a goal of contributing $300 billion annually, though the U.S. disputes its legal obligation to meet this target.
How much does it cost the U.S.?
No industrialized country is assigned a portion of the $300 billion.
Historically, the United States has been criticized for providing less than its share of the global financial climate aid, given the United States’ history as a major climate polluter and it being the world’s largest economic power.
“Formally, there is no agreement on how much the U.S. should provide. However, our work on Fair Shares – based on U.S. historical emissions and ability to pay – finds that the U.S. contribution should be $44.6 billion per year,” Mercy Corps climate lead Debbie Hillier said in an email.
Last year, Biden announced that the U.S. climate aid to poor nations was up to $11 billion a year.
How did Paris agreement start?
The Paris Agreement’s formation was influenced by the failure of the 1998 Kyoto Protocol, which sought mandatory emission cuts but was rejected by the U.S. Senate. Later, President George W. Bush withdrew the U.S. from the deal. This led to the creation of the Paris Agreement, which did not require U.S. Senate approval and was non-binding. A pivotal 2014 bilateral agreement between the U.S. and China helped set the stage for the Paris accord. According to climate analyst Alden Meyer, the lack of legal requirements in the Paris Agreement was partly due to the political polarization surrounding climate change, making it difficult to secure the necessary 67 votes in the U.S. Senate.
Has it worked?
Last year Earth temporarily passed the primary Paris 1.5 degree threshold, said several of the global monitoring groups. The long-term warming is now 1.3 degrees (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times.
In 2015, Climate Action Tracker, a group of scientists, said the world was on path to 3.6 degrees Celsius (6.5 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming since pre-industrial times. Now the same group has the world on path for 2.7 degrees Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit).
Experts call it a partial success.
