The withdrawal of the United States from the treaty and the United Nations scientific panel on climate change is "regrettable" and "unfortunate," the European Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra said on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on withdrawal from more than 60 international organisations. Among other things, Washington is leaving the UNFCCC (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 1992 framework agreement that forms the basis of global efforts to combat climate change). The US is also leaving the IPCC, the scientific panel on climate change.
"The decision by the world's largest economy and second-largest emitter to withdraw is regrettable and unfortunate," Hoekstra said on social media.
He assured that the EU "will remain unequivocally committed to international climate research" and "will continue to work on international cooperation on climate issues."
'US does not care'
Trump had previously announced that he would withdraw his country from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. He did the same during his first term in office.
At that time, the Americans remained affiliated with the UNFCCC, which enabled them to continue participating in the annual UN climate conferences.
Where Hoekstra used diplomatic language, Vice-President Teresa Ribera did not mince her words. "The White House does not care about the environment, health or human suffering," she said.
"Peace, justice, cooperation or prosperity are not among its priorities. Not even the United States' great legacy of global governance," Ribera said. "And they make that clear."
