Environment & Climate Change Targeted by U.S. Withdrawals

In a memo published on January 7 on the White House website, Donald Trump announced the United States would be withdrawing from a number of international organizations, conventions and treaties it deemed "contrary to the interests" of the country. In February 2025, President Trump instructed the Secretary of State and the United States Representative to the UN to "conduct a review of all international intergovernmental organizations of which the United States is a member and provides any type of funding or other support, and all conventions and treaties to which the United States is a party, to determine which organizations, conventions, and treaties are contrary to the interests of the United States". Based on that review, the U.S. identified 66 organizations, conventions and treaties it will be withdrawing from, covering a wide range of missions from climate change protection to peace and security.

As our infographic shows, based on the list published by the White House, 17 of the 66 agreements targeted by the Trump administration had to do with the environment, climate change, resources and/or sustainable development. These include several UN bodies, such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UN Oceans and UN Water. Democracy, justice and human rights agreements also found themselves in the White House's sights: President Trump chose, among others, to withdraw from the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, the UN Democracy Fund, and the International Law Commission.

Interestingly, while the U.S. President has repeatedly claimed to make peace one of his priorities - for instance with the creation of a "Board of Peace", which so far looks like it will be mostly joined by countries with dubious track records on democracy -, he also chose to withdraw his country from two bodies specifically established to support peace efforts: the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund.

Last year, the U.S. announced they would be withdrawing from the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement again. Both of these withdrawals were completed this month.