On the United States’ Decision to Withdraw from and Cease Implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change

Abstract This article attempts to investigate the significance and implications of the United States’ decision to withdraw from and cease implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, as announced in the statement released by President Trump on 1 June 2017. It is argued that that decision risks giving rise to a serious setback for the international protection of climate. Yet, the Parties to the Paris Agreement have so far been reluctant to react to the United States’ conduct. In particular, since the United States withdrawal could not have effect before 4 November 2020, the cessation of implementation of the Paris Agreement has already resulted in a wrongful act, at least as regards the obligation to pursue domestic mitigation measures with the aim of achieving the objectives of the nationally determined contributions. Should the Parties to the Paris Agreement invoke the responsibility of the United States, they would eventually face the need to solve certain difficulties emerging from the application of the general rules concerning State responsibility to a case relevant to climate change, because the implementation mechanism of the Paris Agreement would prove to be inadequate owing to its facilitative nature.

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Climate Change: Reversing the Past and Advancing the Future

AJIL Unbound ◽

10.1017/aju.2020.89 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 115 ◽

pp. 80-85

Author(s):

Daniel Bodansky

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Policy ◽

The United States ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Montreal Protocol ◽

Global Institutions ◽

Change Policy ◽

Global Action ◽

Nationally Determined Contributions ◽

Executive Action

After four years of not simply inaction but significant retrogression in U.S. climate change policy, the Biden administration has its work cut out. As a start, it needs to undo what Trump did. The Biden administration took a step in that direction on Day 1 by rejoining the Paris Agreement. But simply restoring the pre-Trump status quo ante is not enough. The United States also needs to push for more ambitious global action. In part, this will require strengthening parties’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement; but it will also require actions by what Sue Biniaz, the former State Department climate change lawyer, likes to call the Greater Metropolitan Paris Agreement—that is, the array of other international actors that help advance the Paris Agreement's goals, including global institutions such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Montreal Protocol, and the World Bank, as well as regional organizations and non-state actors. Although the Biden administration can pursue some of these international initiatives directly through executive action, new regulatory initiatives will face an uncertain fate in the Supreme Court. So how much the Biden Administration is able to achieve will likely depend significantly on how much a nearly evenly-divided Congress is willing to support.

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Indonesian Policy in Ratifying The 2015 Paris Agreement

Global Jurnal Politik Internasional ◽

10.7454/global.v21i1.353 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 70

Author(s):

Haekal - Siraj

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

United States ◽

Data Analysis ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

The United States ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Financial Assistance ◽

Analysis Techniques ◽

Secondary Sources ◽

The World

The 2015 Paris Agreement requires all participating countries to reduce emisson level. Indonesia as Non-Annex I accepted the norms of the 2015 Paris Agreement by ratifying this agreement. Meanwhile, Indonesia's emissions level continues to increase due to the rate of deforestation and forest degradation in Indonesia which ranks highest in the world. This study aims to analyze Indonesian policy in ratifying the agreement by using the Constructivism Perspective in explaining the International Regime and the Concept of Norm Influence by Finnemore and Sikkink. The study uses qualitative methods with explanatory designs. Data collection techniques are sourced from secondary sources as well as data analysis techniques carried out by reduction, presentation, and drawing conclusions as well as verification. This study found that the United States as a hegemonic state acting as the norm entrepreneurs by granting climate change financial assistance of $500 million through the GCF for Indonesia as a developing country was a condition affecting Indonesia in ratifying the agreement. Keywords: Indonesia, ratify, 2015 Paris Agreement, norm, climate change.

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Fusing subnational with national climate action is central to decarbonization: the case of the United States

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-020-18903-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nathan E. Hultman ◽

Leon Clarke ◽

Carla Frisch ◽

Kevin Kennedy ◽

Haewon McJeon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Integrated Assessment Model ◽

Assessment Model ◽

Emissions Reductions ◽

Climate Action ◽

Nationally Determined Contributions ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Reduce Emissions

Abstract Approaches that root national climate strategies in local actions will be essential for all countries as they develop new nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement. The potential impact of climate action from non-national actors in delivering higher global ambition is significant. Sub-national action in the United States provides a test for how such actions can accelerate emissions reductions. We aggregated U.S. state, city, and business commitments within an integrated assessment model to assess how a national climate strategy can be built upon non-state actions. We find that existing commitments alone could reduce emissions 25% below 2005 levels by 2030, and that enhancing actions by these actors could reduce emissions up to 37%. We show how these actions can provide a stepped-up basis for additional federal action to reduce emissions by 49%—consistent with 1.5 °C. Our analysis demonstrates sub-national actions can lead to substantial reductions and support increased national action.

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The Club Approach: A Gateway to Effective Climate Co-operation?

British Journal of Political Science ◽

10.1017/s0007123416000788 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 1071-1096 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Jon Hovi ◽

Detlef F. Sprinz ◽

Håkon Sælen ◽

Arild Underdal

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

United States ◽

European Union ◽

The United States ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

The European Union ◽

Agent Based ◽

Club Good ◽

The Right ◽

Global Emissions

Although the Paris Agreement arguably made some progress, interest in supplementary approaches to climate change co-operation persist. This article examines the conditions under which a climate club might emerge and grow. Using agent-based simulations, it shows that even with less than a handful of major actors as initial members, a club can eventually reduce global emissions effectively. To succeed, a club must be initiated by the ‘right’ constellation of enthusiastic actors, offer sufficiently large incentives for reluctant countries and be reasonably unconstrained by conflicts between members over issues beyond climate change. A climate club is particularly likely to persist and grow if initiated by the United States and the European Union. The combination of club-good benefits and conditional commitments can produce broad participation under many conditions.

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Prospects for renewable energy in 2017

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db216113 ◽

2016 ◽

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

United States ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Electric Power ◽

Primary Source ◽

The United States ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Tipping Point ◽

Content Type

Subject Prospects for renewable energy in 2017. Significance The United States and China, the world’s two largest economies as well as the largest carbon emitters, announced their ratification of the Paris Agreement in September. Earlier this year, prices for renewable energy in select regions set historic lows below fossil-fired plants. Renewable energy seems to have passed the tipping point towards gradual adoption as the primary source of electric power while also hopefully preventing catastrophic climate change.

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The Paris Agreement and the Prospects for Socialization into the Climate Norm: Lessons from the U.S. and China

International Studies Review ◽

10.1163/2667078x-02101004 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 73-97

Author(s):

Jinhyun Lee

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Institutional Transformation ◽

Climate Regime ◽

Critical Elements ◽

The Us ◽

Climate Action ◽

The U.S

The Paris Agreement made a breakthrough amid the deadlock in climate negotiations, yet concerns are raised regarding how much impact the new voluntary climate regime can make. This paper investigates the socialization mechanism that the Paris Agreement sets up and explores the prospects of “institutional transformation” for it to make a dent. It examines the factors that can facilitate voluntary climate action by using the cases of the most recalcitrant emitters, the United States and China. It argues that the US and China cases suggest that the socialization from the bottom-up by domestic actors may be one of the critical elements that determine states’ position on climate change.

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The U.S. Withdrawal From the Paris Agreement: Challenges and Opportunities for China

China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies ◽

10.1142/s2377740018500100 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 04 (02) ◽

pp. 281-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hongyuan Yu

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

United States ◽

Climate Policy ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Global Climate ◽

Clean Energy ◽

The United States ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Climate Governance ◽

The U.S

President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is both a major reversal of the Obama administration’s climate policy and a huge blow to global climate governance. The comprehensive regression of President Trump’s climate policy manifests mainly in three aspects: abolition of the clean energy plan, exit from the Paris Agreement, and a return to traditional energy policies, which reflect the cyclical and volatile nature of the U.S. climate policy. With its lasting negative impact, the China-U.S. cooperative leadership in global climate governance is stranded. In this light, China should strive for a bigger role in leading global efforts to address climate change and enhance cooperation through various mechanisms. Under the current U.S. policy environment, China can still strengthen cooperation with the United States in such fields as traditional energy, infrastructure investment, global energy market, and green finance.

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The United States and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change

Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law Online ◽

10.1163/18757413_022001004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 70-82

Author(s):

Mohit Khubchandani

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Donald Trump ◽

The Us ◽

Domestic Policies

In June 2017, US President Donald Trump announced that the US ‘will withdraw from the Paris Accord’. This paper argues that the US is still a party to the Paris Agreement and that its current domestic policies, such as revocation of the Clean Power Plan and lifting the Coal Moratorium, constitute an internationally wrongful act.

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