US President Donald Trump has ordered the United States to withdraw from dozens of international organisations, including several central to global efforts to combat climate change, marking a significant shift away from multilateral engagement.
According to the White House, the US is exiting 66 international bodies, nearly half of which are affiliated with the United Nations. Among them is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the treaty that underpins international cooperation on tackling global warming.
The decision was formalised in a memorandum signed on Wednesday following a government review that concluded the organisations no longer served American interests. The White House said the groups promoted “ineffective or hostile agendas” and amounted to a “waste of taxpayer dollars”.
“These withdrawals will end American taxpayer funding and involvement in entities that advance globalist agendas over US priorities,” the statement said. It added that many of the organisations pushed “radical climate policies, global governance and ideological programmes that conflict with US sovereignty and economic strength”.
Also included in the withdrawal list is the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global body responsible for assessing climate science and informing international policy responses. Other affected UN agencies work on peacebuilding, democracy, family planning, maternal and child health, and addressing sexual violence in conflict.
Trump has long been critical of multilateral institutions and climate initiatives. During his previous term, he cut funding to several international organisations and repeatedly dismissed the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change, once describing it as a “hoax”.
The move may face legal challenges, as while the US Constitution allows presidents to enter treaties with Senate approval, it does not clearly outline the process for withdrawing from them.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from climate advocates and scientists. Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, described the withdrawal as “a new low”, accusing the administration of undermining global cooperation and disregarding scientific evidence.
She said the move signalled an “authoritarian” and “anti-science” approach that risks people’s wellbeing and weakens international efforts to address shared global challenges.
Last year, Trump again withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement — widely regarded as the most important global framework for limiting rising temperatures — and declined to send a US delegation to the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
The latest withdrawals further deepen concerns among environmental groups and international partners about the US role in global climate action under the Trump administration.
Melissa Enoch
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