US officially begins Paris climate deal withdrawal
The Trump administration notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the historic Paris climate accord on Monday, a move that will take effect one year later, on Nov. 4, 2020 -- the day after the 2020 elections.
The formal notification comes over two years after President Donald Trump announced he would pull the U.S. out of the agreement, criticizing it as imposing an unfair burden on the U.S. and doing little to halt climate change-causing emissions from other countries -- claims that critics say mischaracterize the agreement.
The agreement, which has now been signed by nearly every nation on earth, seeks to limit global temperature increases to less than 2 degrees Celsius, with each country setting its own nonbinding emission targets and reporting on its progress to reduce them.
