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The United States has officially withdrawn from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, completing President Donald Trump’s long-promised exit from the global effort he has repeatedly criticized as unfair to American workers and businesses.
The president ordered the withdrawal on his first day back in office in 2025. Under the agreement’s rules, however, a one-year waiting period was required before the exit could take effect. The United Nations confirmed last year that the U.S. withdrawal became official on Jan. 27, 2026.
The move makes the United States the only country to leave the Paris Agreement twice.
President Trump first pulled the U.S. out of the accord during his initial term, arguing that it imposed disproportionate economic burdens on the United States while allowing other major polluters to avoid comparable commitments. Former President Joe Biden later rejoined the agreement, a decision President Trump criticized before reversing it again.
“Thanks to President Trump, the U.S. has officially escaped from the Paris Climate Agreement which undermined American values and priorities, wasted hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and stifled economic growth,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement. “This is another commonsense America First victory for the American people.”
The Paris Agreement encourages countries to voluntarily set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, aiming to limit global temperature increases. Critics of the pact have long argued that it disadvantages the United States and places heavier restrictions on developed nations than on fast-growing economies.
Trump’s formal exit underscores a broader shift by his administration away from international climate policy. Officials have criticized renewable energy mandates pursued by foreign governments and warned of possible tariffs on countries that support carbon taxes on international shipping.
With the Paris withdrawal now complete, the United States is among a small number of countries without a formal national emissions-reduction target tied to the agreement.
The administration is also pursuing withdrawal from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, a separate treaty that promotes global cooperation on climate policy.
