Donald Trump just declared war on global cooperation by abandoning dozens of organizations in one bizarre memo

President Trump has shocked the world by announcing the United States will exit the foundational international agreement designed to address the climate crisis, cementing the country’s isolation from global efforts to confront dangerously escalating temperatures. The bombshell news arrived via a presidential memorandum, as per The Guardian.

In the memo, the president withdrew the US from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), along with a staggering 65 other international organizations, commissions, and agencies. The administration’s stated reason is that these groups are simply “contrary to the interests of the United States.”

This move is incredibly dramatic because the UNFCCC treaty is the absolute bedrock of global climate cooperation. Every country in the world has agreed to it since its creation 34 years ago, and the US Senate even ratified the treaty back in October 1992.

This isn’t just a political disagreement; it’s an economic one, too

Critics are already calling this decision a massive blunder that will hurt the US economy and its ability to compete globally. Simon Stiell, the UN’s climate chief, described the exit as a “colossal own goal.” He pointed out that while all other nations are moving forward, this step back from science and cooperation can only harm American jobs and living standards as extreme weather gets worse. We have already heard reports of the Great Lakes facing historically low water levels.

Gina McCarthy, a top climate adviser in the previous administration, called the action a “shortsighted, embarrassing and foolish decision.” She worries that by becoming the only country not part of the UNFCCC treaty, the Trump administration is throwing away decades of American leadership and forfeiting the ability to influence trillions of dollars in global investments focused on clean energy.

This self-defeating mindset is exactly what worries Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He called the exit an “unforced error” that will further hamper the US’s ability to compete with China. China is already dominating the world’s rapidly growing clean energy technology industries, and Bapna argues that by abdicating global leadership, the US is ceding trillions of dollars in investment to nations willing to follow the science and embrace cleaner, cheaper power sources.

The severity of the administration’s hostility to climate science is underscored by the breadth of the memorandum. The White House isn’t just targeting the UNFCCC; it’s also pulling out of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is the UN’s top climate science body. Other jettisoned environmental groups include the International Renewable Energy Association and the International Solar Alliance.

This is all consistent with President Trump’s previous actions. He has routinely ridiculed climate science as a “hoax” and a “scam.” He has actively hobbled clean energy projects and attempted to keep the US wedded to the fossil fuels that are driving disastrous heatwaves, storms, and droughts. Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed the decision, stating that the agreements being tossed out are “often dominated by progressive ideology and detached from national interests.”