President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will withdraw from dozens of international and U.N. bodies, including a major climate treaty and a U.N. agency promoting gender equality, arguing they operate against U.S. national interests.
Among the 35 non-U.N. groups and 31 U.N. entities Trump listed in a memo to senior administration officials is the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change – described by many as the "bedrock" climate treaty, which is the parent agreement to the 2015 Paris climate deal.
The United States skipped the annual U.N. international climate summit last year for the first time in three decades.
"The United States would be the first country to walk away from the UNFCCC," said Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"Every other nation is a member, in part because they recognize that even beyond the moral imperative of addressing climate change, having a seat at the table in those negotiations represents an ability to shape massive economic policy and opportunity," said Bapna.
