01.07.26

Ranking Member Huffman Statement on Trump’s Withdrawal from International Climate Agreements

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released the following statement after President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum withdrawing the United States from 66 international organizations, including from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change:

“This is climate denial as foreign policy. The same ‘oil over all’ mentality driving regime change in Venezuela to plunder another country’s resources is what’s behind torching international climate agreements here at home. Today, the President delivered another win for his polluter buddies, ripping the United States out of the very foundation of international climate cooperation — the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that was ratified by the Senate over 30 years ago.

“The UNFCCC isn’t some radical new treaty. It was signed by President George H.W. Bush and ratified with bipartisan support in 1992. Abandoning it doesn’t make America stronger; it makes us weaker, an international pariah, all while China, Europe, and the rest of the world move forward on clean energy without us.

“Withdrawing from these international clean energy and environmental programs will be remembered as one of the greatest acts of economic self-sabotage in American history. Our children and grandchildren will ask why we sacrificed good-paying jobs and the industries of tomorrow to protect the polluters of the past — and why we didn’t act when we had the chance.

“Americans are living through the consequences of climate change right now: record wildfires, catastrophic hurricanes, deadly heat waves. This is a betrayal of every community on the frontlines of climate disaster.

“House Democrats will continue fighting for American workers and families who deserve clean air, clean water, and a livable planet, not a president who sells out their future to billionaire polluters.”

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