"WASHINGTON - The Trump administration's decision to withdraw the United States from the foundational U.N. climate treaty, which the U.S. Senate unanimously adopted more than 30 years ago, may be illegal, according to some legal experts who say that Congress would need to approve its exit.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would withdraw from dozens of international and U.N. entities, including the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as the scientific Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that "operate contrary to U.S. national interests" of focusing on oil, gas and mining development.
Trump, a vocal critic of renewable energy who has called climate change a "con job" and a hoax, went beyond his previous action of withdrawing the U.S. - the world's biggest historical greenhouse gas emitter - from the Paris climate agreement, by removing the country from the underlying UNFCCC.
He also pulled the U.S. out of the key scientific climate change body called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and a host of other U.N. bodies focused on environment, health, arts and women's rights.
Some international law experts said the president's unprecedented move on Wednesday raises major legal questions because case law has not been clear on whether a president can unilaterally withdraw the country from a treaty that has been ratified by a majority of the Senate."
Valerie Volcovici reports for Reuters January 8, 2026.
SEE ALSO:
"US Will Exit 66 International Organizations As It Further Retreats From Global Cooperation" (AP)
"These Are The 66 Global Organizations The Trump Administration Is Leaving" (AP)
"Outcry Builds Over Trump’s Withdrawal From International, Climate Treaties" (Inside Climate News)
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