US President Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from several international organizations, including many that work to combat climate change.
Among the 66 groups, almost half of them are United Nations bodies, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – an agreement that underpins all international efforts to combat global warming.
The White House said the decision was made because the entities “no longer serve America’s interests” and promote “ineffective or hostile agendas”.
Trump has already stripped several multilateral organizations he doesn’t like of funds and has previously dismissed the scientific consensus on man-made climate change as a “hoax”.
The memorandum was signed on Wednesday following a review of the factors the White House said was “a waste of taxpayer dollars”.
“These withdrawals will end American taxpayer funding and participation in entities that advance globalist agendas over US priorities,” it said in a statement.
It added that many of the organizations promote “radical climate policies, global governance and ideological programs that oppose US sovereignty and economic power”.
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an expert body that examines climate science worldwide, is also included in the list.
Other UN organizations affected include those working on peace and democracy, family planning, maternal and child health, and sexual violence in conflict.
While the US Constitution allows presidents to join treaties “provided two-thirds of the Senators agree”, it does not specify what happens if they withdraw, which means Trump’s move could face legal challenges.
A member of the US-based non-profit advocacy group, the Union of Concerned Scientists, described the move as a “new low”.
Senior policy director Rachel Cleetus told the AFP news agency that it was yet another sign that the administration, which she described as “authoritarian” and “anti-science”, was determined to sacrifice people’s welfare and undermine global cooperation.
Last year, Trump withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement – the world’s most important effort to tackle rising temperatures – and refused to send a delegation to the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.