Trump exits Paris climate accord: Earth could be 3.6 degrees warmer by 2100

As the world's second-biggest polluter, the US should have a key role in tackling climate change

President Donald Trump on Thursday withdrew the US from the landmark Paris climate accord. Ostensibly, according to Trump, the accord is not tough on India and China. Further, he alleged that the deal was negotiated "poorly" by the Obama administration and signed out of "desperation".

"In order to fulfil my solemn duty to protect our citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord... We are getting out and we will start to renegotiate," Trump said at the Rose Garden of the White House.

Trump said he wants a fair deal for the American businesses to stay in the Paris agreement on climate change. 

The US, however, will not immediately pull out of the Paris Act. He would follow the four-year rule to get out of it. This means that the US will leave the Paris Agreement in 2020.

What happens now

• The world will get warmer by 3.6 degrees Celsius by 2100 when compared with pre-industrial levels, more than the 3.3-degree baseline scenario

• It will threaten a $100 billion-a-year stream of funds that industrial nations have pledged to persuade developing nations to cut back their own emissions

• So far, no other country, not even China or India has said they would follow the US in pulling out of Paris. Instead, it’s catalysed support for the deal

• If the rest of the world followed Trump, it could add a total of 350 billion to 450 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

• The chances of meeting the UN target of staying well below 2 degrees of warming will drop to about 10 per cent, from two-thirds now

• China and the EU will seek on Friday to buttress the agreement. In a statement backed by all 28 European Union (EU) states, the EU and China will commit to full implementation of the accord, EU and Chinese officials said

Shift in the biggest polluters share in greenhouse gas emission
 

Can global warming be slowed without US involvement?

As the world’s second-biggest polluter, after China, the US has a key role to play in any attempt to tackle rising temperatures. The US had also agreed to contribute financially to help poorer nations invest in renewable energy. It had pledged to cut its carbon emissions 26-28 per cent from 2005 levels by 2025.