Donald Trump withdraws US from Paris climate deal, pardons defendants in Capitol riots case

Donald Trump on Monday signed a series of executive orders shortly after being sworn in as the United States president.

The Republican Party leader signed an executive order once again withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement on combatting climate change.

He said that the deal had the potential to “damage or stifle the American economy” and that such agreements “must not unduly or unfairly burden the United States”.

Under the 2015 deal, nearly all countries have agreed to keep the long-term global average surface temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.

This is the second time Trump has withdrawn the United States from the climate deal. In June 2017, during his first tenure as the president, Trump had said that the United States would cease all participation in the agreement, contending that it would undermine the country’s economy. The withdrawal took effect in November 2020.

This withdrawal was overturned by an executive order signed by President Joe Biden when he was sworn-in on January 20, 2021. The United States had formally rejoined the agreement in February 2021.

The new United States president also pardoned about 1,500 of his supporters who had been arrested for the…

Read more