Statement: Withdrawing U.S. from UNFCCC, IPCC, and Other International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties Will Harm Frontline Communities

From the Climate Policy Program at the Institute for Policy Studies

For Immediate Release

On January 7, 2026, the White House announced its decision to withdraw the United States from 66 international organizations, conventions, and treaties, including the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and other critical U.N. agencies and treaties.

As the U.S. further retreats from global cooperation, this will have a devastating impact on the domestic and global response to the climate crisis. The stated rationale of the White House is that these agreements and organizations are “contrary to the interests of the United States.” This assertion shows the administration’s callous disregard for the lived realities of communities in every corner of the country.

The IPCC provides authoritative scientific updates every few years about the state of scientific knowledge about causes and impacts of climate change, and policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It’s preposterous to argue that this is against U.S. interests, when millions nationwide suffer from prolonged droughts, summer heat waves, severe storms, flooding, and wildfires as a consequence of climate change. The expected response from the White House, that climate change is a “hoax,” is absurd and should not be taken as a serious response by any credible media outlet.

The UNFCCC is the global body that convenes multilateral negotiations on addressing climate change, such as the annual Conference of Parties (COP). Admittedly, these negotiations have been fruitless and ineffective to date. Regardless, the U.S. is walking away from even trying to address climate change cooperatively. This would be an irresponsible thing for any country to do, but is particularly egregious for the U.S. to do, given that we are the world’s largest cumulative greenhouse gas emitter and the largest producer of oil and gas. Effectively, the country most responsible for the problem is telling the world that it isn’t interested in discussing solutions.

In response, climate justice advocates have issued the following statements:

“President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the UNFCCC and the IPCC sends a clear message to young people: polluters’ profits matter more to our country’s political leadership than our futures,” said Zoey Craft, Communications Manager for Youth United for Climate Crisis Action. “Communities across New Mexico – the second largest oil producer in the United States – are already facing the impacts of the climate crisis and unchecked pollution at the hands of oil and gas corporations that have been allowed to poison our land, air, and water without accountability for generations. As we face worsening natural disasters fueled by climate chaos, the expansion of corporate control of our energy systems through AI data centers and private equity takeovers, and U.S. imperialism motivated by resource extraction, young people will continue to organize for the livable future we know is possible. We won’t stand by while our leaders continue to protect polluters over people while we pay the price. Our lives – and our communities – are not disposable.”

“Climate change is a global crisis created by extractive systems that cross borders. This crisis cannot be solved by any one country acting alone, especially not the country most responsible for the damage. When the United States abandons international conventions, it isn’t just retreating from diplomacy – it is undermining the survival of frontline communities across the world who have done the least to cause this crisis and are paying the highest price,”  said Feleecia Guillen, New Mexico Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies. “The only path forward is a full and fast fossil fuel phase-out that is fair, funded, and feminist – guided by science, justice, and the urgent needs of frontline communities.” 

“In terms of responsibility for the global climate crisis,the U.S. is not just another one of the more than 190 countries in the world. It is the world’s largest cumulative greenhouse gas emitter, and the largest producer and exporter of oil and gas today. By walking away from the UNFCCC and the IPCC, the Trump regime is sending a clear message to the world that the U.S. refuses to take responsibility for its own actions,” said Basav Sen, Director of the Climate Policy Program, Institute for Policy Studies, in a statement issued by the U.S. Climate Action Network. 

Press contacts:

Basav Sen, Institute for Policy Studies, basav@ips-dc.org 

Olivia Alperstein, Institute for Policy Studies, olivia@ips-dc.org

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