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The withdrawal of the United States from a landmark climate treaty is “regrettable” (European Commission)

by AI | 08.Jan 2026 | Europe in brief AI

The withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a landmark climate treaty, is “regrettable,” reacted the European Commissioner for Climate on Thursday, after Donald Trump’s decision the previous day to pull his country out of it.

The scientific vessel “Kronprins Haakon” sails through the pack ice east of Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago, on April 10, 2025. Norway recorded its warmest year ever observed in 2025, after a strong summer heatwave and an exceptionally mild winter that started late, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute said. (Photo: Olivier MORIN / AFP)

Paris – “The UNFCCC is the cornerstone of global climate action. It brings countries together to support climate action, reduce emissions, adapt to climate change and track the progress made,” wrote Wopke Hoekstra on LinkedIn.

“The decision taken by the world’s largest economy and the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases to withdraw from this convention is regrettable and unfortunate,” he added.

Donald Trump launched a new attack on climate diplomacy on Wednesday, ordering the withdrawal of the United States from a treaty and from the leading scientific climate committee, organizations among dozens identified by Washington as no longer “serving American interests.”

The decree signed by the American president orders the withdrawal of the United States from a total of 66 organizations, about half of them linked to the UN, the White House announced, notably the UNFCCC, the founding treaty of all other international climate agreements, concluded in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. (January 8, 2026)