The US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement has officially taken place as of January 27, 2026, and the US formally communicated its intention to withdraw from this agreement under existing United Nations rules and regulations by submitting a formal withdrawal notice to the UN. The decision to withdraw following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump has placed the U.S. alongside just a few other countries as a non-signatory to the agreement and has generated controversy and legal challenges worldwide.

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Background to the Withdrawal Process

The action to withdraw began with the signing of an executive order by President Trump on January 20, 2025 (Executive Order 14162), directing U.S. withdrawal and other related commitments, as the United States was to notify the U.N. The notification was the formal step that began a one-year wait period for withdrawal from the agreement, as provided in Article 28.

The United States has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement for the second time; after withdrawing in 2020 during Trump’s first term as president, it re-entered under President Joe Biden when he was inaugurated in 2021. This pattern of rejoining and exiting demonstrates the broad and fundamental changes in U.S. climate policy over the past few years because of the appointment and election of individual presidents.

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Worldwide and National Response

Climate supporters and international groups have strongly opposed the U.S. withdrawing from the agreement. Amnesty International cautioned that the exit “sets a worrying example” and could spark a “‘race to the bottom’” in global climate action, especially since the U.S. is also moving to withdraw from related groups like the Green Climate Fund and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Several leaders and climate officials said the agreement’s goals remain in place, even without the U.S. involved. People watching the situation say that global investment in non-polluting energy continues to increase, suggesting that the push toward a cleaner economy may continue, even if Washington is not involved.

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What This Means for Climate Policy

The exit has significant effects on policy, since there are no official requirements under the Paris Agreement, the federal government’s role in setting national pollution goals and providing international climate funding is lowered, which could slow down some efforts to reduce pollution.

International climate talks are changing as other countries shift their plans since the U.S. is no longer leading. National businesses and state and local governments in the United States may still work to reduce pollution on their own, but the federal exit changes the terms of bigger talks. The US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement is a key moment in global climate action with lasting effects on international cooperation and climate action.

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