President Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change, or UNFCCC. According to Somini Sengupta, the treaty has guided international efforts to address Climate change since 1992, creating a legal framework for countries to negotiate emission cuts and convene annually to discuss Global warming. The process also produced the 2015 Paris Agreement, which allows each nation to set its own targets for reducing greenhouse gases.
Leaving the UNFCCC makes the United States an outlier among 198 countries that have ratified or approved the treaty. It also damages the country’s credibility in the eyes of vulnerable nations already suffering from rising sea levels and extreme weather events. As one of the largest historical contributors to Earth’s carbon Pollution, the US departure signals retreat from leadership in addressing a shared global crisis.
The UNFCCC’s headquarters in Bonn, Germany, employs about 450 people, and the US traditionally covers roughly 20 percent of its core budget. When Washington stopped funding last year, philanthropist Michael Bloomberg filled the gap. Yet the consequences go beyond money. Withdrawing excludes the US from crucial discussions about renewable energy, adaptation, and global clean-energy markets. As Manish Bapna of the Natural Resources Defense Council noted, the move could cost the nation trillions in investment, jobs, and innovation.
While the official withdrawal will take a year to take effect, rejoining later may prove difficult due to political polarization. The planet cannot afford this delay. Climate change continues to threaten public health, wildlife, and communities worldwide. Supporting vegan and plant based lifestyles and protecting the environment remain vital actions we can all take to help restore balance to our shared home.
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