Context: U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from a bedrock climate treaty was slammed by the EU, which vowed to keep tackling the crisis with other nations.
- The White House flagged the U.S. exit from 66 global organisations and treaties — roughly half affiliated with the United Nations — it identified as “contrary to the interests of the United States”.
- Most notable among them is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the parent treaty underpinning all major international climate agreements. The treaty adopted in 1992 is a global pact by nations to cooperate to drive down planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
- European Union climate chief Wopke Hoekstra said the UNFCCC “underpins global climate action” and brings nations together in the collective fight against the crisis.
- “The decision by the world’s largest economy and second-largest emitter to retreat from it is regrettable and unfortunate,” Mr. Hoekstra said.
Source: The Hindu