Trump withdraws the United States from 66 international organizations, 31 of which are part of the UN

BarcelonaIn the midst of an open battle—currently a war of words—with his European and NATO allies over Greenland, Donald Trump took another step toward international isolation on Thursday, ordering the United States to withdraw from 66 international organizations and treaties, 31 of which are UN agencies. The list of entities in which Washington will cease to participate and contribute financially includes the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and UN Energy. The country is also withdrawing from the International Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the scientific platform of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and from organizations such as the Global Counterterrorism Forum, the International Energy Forum, the Atlantic Partnership for Cooperation, and the UN Science and Technology Centre. The White House announced this early this morning in a statement regarding the "withdrawal of the United States from organizations, conventions, and treaties that are contrary to the interests of the United States." After having already left UNESCO, the WHO, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Paris AgreementThis new step culminates the process of retreating from and dismantling multilateralism that he has championed since his first term. He breaks off dialogue with the international community at a moment of maximum confrontation, after launching a military operation against Venezuela to seize its oil and when he threatens to do the same to annex Greenland and its minerals.

In his In his speech before the UN General Assembly in September, Trump already disparaged the organization. And he took the opportunity to deny climate change. The US president accuses UN climate agencies of promoting "radical policies" and a global governance that "no longer serves US interests."

"A gift to China"

The reactions were swift. Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who also served as Joe Biden's special envoy for climate change, warned that this decision to withdraw en masse from the international arena "is a gift to China." "There is nothing surprising about their attitude on the climate crisis or on the value of institutions. This is business as usual. But what is different now is that this is a gift to China and a free pass for countries and polluters who want to avoid their responsibilities," he said in a statement. Former US Vice President Al Gore also criticized the move: "With the withdrawal of'“The IPCC, the UNFCCC, and other vital partnerships—the Trump administration is undoing decades of hard diplomatic work, attempting to undermine climate science, and sowing distrust around the world.”

is unwilling to participate in humanity’s great race to save the planet.” “Drifting away from the UNFCCC in a desperate attempt to cling to a dying era of fossil fuels will bring not economic strength, but weakness and isolation” to the United States, added Savio Carvalho, campaigns director of the