US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday evening (local time) announcing the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, along with a letter informing the United Nations of his decision.
This was one of a number of executive orders signed by Trump following his inauguration earlier on Monday as the 47th president of the United States.
During his first term as president, Trump also withdrew from the agreement because he believed that it would harm the US economy, and because, he claimed, countries like China and India were not doing enough for the climate. His successor, Joe Biden, reversed that decision when he took office.
The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement aims to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, but last year, that threshold was exceeded for the first time.
Earlier, Trump delivered an address to his supporters at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., announcing that he would grant pardons to the individuals involved in the storming of the US Capitol on 21 January 2021. According to Trump, 1,500 people would receive pardons, covering nearly everyone who was charged..
In his speech, the new president also said he would reverse around 80 presidential decrees signed by his predecessor, and that he would do so with a single stroke of the pen.
He announced a temporary freeze on the hiring of federal employees, and pledged to sign a decree safeguarding the right to free speech. He also committed to signing a decree to end what he described as the use of the Justice Department against political opponents.
Meanwhile, Trump criticised Special Counsel Jack Smith and questioned aloud whether Smith had received a pardon from former President Biden. This was a reference to protective pardons granted by Biden to personalities identified as potential targets of retaliatory action by the incoming president.
Following his speech, Trump began signing an initial set of presidential decrees at a specially installed desk, including the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.
