Quitting & Rejoining Global Climate Agreements: What’s at Stake for the United States

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By Jake Schmidt, Senior Strategic Director, International Climate, International, NRDC

Following its previous announcement withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, the Trump administration announced it intends to also withdraw from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—the foundational international climate agreement adopted in 1992 that the United States joined in 1994.

In doing so, the United States continues to isolate itself, since all other 197 countries in the world remain members of the UNFCCC in pursuit of clean energy and a resilient economy. However, under a future and different administration, the United States can and should readily rejoin both the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC. 

“The United States would be the first country to walk away from the UNFCCC. Every other nation is a member, in part because they recognize that even beyond the moral imperative of addressing climate change, having a seat at the table in those negotiations represents an ability to shape massive economic policy and opportunity. A future administration that understands the stakes can rejoin the UNFCCC just as Trump decided to pull the country out of it.” —Manish Bapna, president & CEO, NRDC

Below we unpack the implications of such an announcement, including the ability of the United States to rejoin both the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, and what this means for international climate action.

When does the U.S. withdrawal go into effect, and what does it mean for U.S. participation in international climate discussions?

It takes one year after the United States formally submits its paperwork to the United Nations to no longer be a party to the UNFCCC. No country has ever taken this radical step to completely withdraw from all international climate efforts. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC solidifies this administration’s stance as a global pariah on climate change.

The United States can still listen in to the discussions, but its influence, as an observer, will be effectively sidelined.

The world needs to keep moving to strengthen climate action on the ground and uphold international climate ambition. The United States’ absence will complicate the climate negotiations, as a major economy pulling in the wrong direction always makes forging global progress more difficult. And the Trump administration isn’t just sitting on the sidelines—it is actively trying to undercut climate action in other countries. World leaders, CEOs, financial players, and the entire international community will need to do everything possible to push back on climate inaction. We can’t afford to tread water for three more years while the climate crisis escalates.

Can the United States rejoin the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement?

Yes, the United States can rejoin both the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC under a future administration.

Legal scholars agree that a future administration can rejoin these agreements. Jean Galbraith, a University of Pennsylvania law school professor, evaluated whether the president can rejoin international agreements once the United States has withdrawn and concluded: “He or she may promptly rejoin the United States to these treaties without the need for a second round of advice and consent from the Senate.”

Under the Constitution, the United States can join international agreements under various mechanisms. The United States joined the UNFCCC under the Article 2 provision of the Constitution that states the president “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.” Based upon this authority, President George Bush entered the United States into the UNFCCC after the Senate gave its “advice and consent” under a 92–to-0 vote. A future president could rejoin the UNFCCC using this Senate advice and consent, which means that the United States could become a party to the UNFCCC 90 days after such a decision is formalized. 

But the United States also has other mechanisms with which to enter into international agreements: as noted by international legal scholars, the United States has entered into more than 90 percent of international agreements through different legal mechanisms (i.e., not through Article 2’s Senate “advice and consent” power). 

The United States joined the Paris Agreement through a different legal route that didn’t require Senate advice and consent, as the United States has the domestic legal authority to comply with its provisions. After the Trump administration withdrew from the Paris Agreement the first time, President Joe Biden used his existing legal authority to rejoin the Paris Agreement on his first day in office. A future president could use that same legal authority to rejoin the Paris Agreement on day one and formally return to the agreement 30 days later.

It is also unsettled constitutional law on whether a president can unilaterally withdraw from international agreements that the Senate gave its advice and consent to join. The Constitution specifies the entry provisions but is silent on the exit provisions. Several respected international legal scholars have argued that the president can’t unilaterally withdraw. As Harold Koh, the former U.S. State Department international head lawyer stated, “The president does not have a general unilateral power of treaty termination.” Jim Connaughton, who led the White House Council on Environmental Quality during the George W. Bush administration also notes, “There’s a legal question on whether a president can unilaterally withdraw from a treaty that the Senate has ratified.” The U.S. Supreme Court has never resolved this issue, so it is considered unsettled law by legal scholars.

It is clear to legal experts that a future U.S. administration could rejoin both the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement without needing additional “advice and consent” from the Senate.

The United States is further retreating while the rest of world keeps plugging away

While the Trump administration keeps promoting more climate pollution, the rest of the world acknowledges the cost of inaction and is striving to identify the most rapid, equitable way to make our societies more resilient and cleaner. Why? Because this is in their own interest. Floods, droughts, heat waves, extreme weather, and other climate devastation are already taking a toll on people’s lives and livelihoods. Leaders of major economies around the world show no sign of joining the Trump administration in withdrawing from the international climate agreements, putting the brakes on the clean energy economy, or becoming pro–fossil fuel propagandists.

Since 2015, the year the Paris Agreement was adopted, electricity generation from renewables has increased by 81 percent, according to analysis from the United Nations. This growth in renewables just makes economic sense. In 2024, 91 percent of newly commissioned utility-scale renewable electricity delivered power at a lower cost than newly installed fossil fuel–based alternatives globally, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Despite headwinds, renewable energy investment in the first half of 2025 broke a new record with $386 billion of total investment globally—a 10 percent increase from the previous year. The continuation is also evident in the transportation sector. One out of every five cars sold globally was an electric vehicle, rising from one out every 100 cars in 2015. 

Countries, companies, states, cities, and citizens around the world should ignore the Trump administration and continue to invest in the climate solutions that deliver more affordable energy, lower air pollution, less climate devastation, biodiversity protection, and better economic well-being. And future U.S. administrations should quickly rejoin the international climate agreements. 

We can’t afford to wait!