Environment Minister Dion George. (OJ Koloti, Gallo Images)
The US’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement is not only an “abdication of the global responsibility that we all have to humankind” but is “damaging to multilateralism, international law and carefully built trust between nations”.
This is according to Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dion George, who has expressed his “profound regret” over the decision of President Donald Trump’s administration to exit the accord.
After his inauguration on Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order directing the US to withdraw from the agreement, an international treaty between 195 countries to limit climate change, describing it as an “unfair, one-sided Paris climate accord rip-off”.
The US will be one of only four countries — including Iran, Libya and Yemen — not engaged in the Paris Agreement once the withdrawal takes effect, one year from signing.
According to George, the adoption of the agreement in 2015, 15 years after the withdrawal of the US from the Kyoto Protocol, was a victory for the multilateral effort to curb climate change and reflects the scientific consensus on severity of the climate crisis and the urgency for action.
It is premised on a shared and very strong understanding “that we all have a common responsibility to act”, while noting that nations over time have contributed to the problem differently and have varied capabilities to respond.
“The Paris Agreement represents the most flexible and dynamic approach to addressing climate change,” the minister said. “The US played an important role in the negotiation of the Paris Agreement, and the withdrawal of the US is not only an abdication of the global responsibility that we all have to humankind, but damaging to multilateralism, international law and carefully built trust between nations.”
The US has contributed significantly to global emissions, still having the highest cumulative historical emissions, “and therefore to global warming and the climate crisis we all face”.
Americans, George said, have a pressing moral obligation, not only to lead in reducing emissions, but to support developing economies in contributing to the global effort, and to provide support to poor countries experiencing the impacts of climate change.
The US has committed to do so, most recently at COP29, and its recently communicated mitigation target for 2035. “It appears now that these commitments will not be upheld. We hope that this is not the case.”
The US, too, has been a leader in both the science of climate change and in technological innovation underpinning the global response to climate change.
“We recognise the outstanding contribution made to the fight against climate change in the US by past administrations, states, cities, scientific organisations, civil society, business and ordinary Americans,” said George. “We applaud the continuing efforts of US citizens and non-state actors to address the climate crisis with the diligence, creativity and imagination we have come to expect.
“We recall the substantial contribution that previous administrations have made to South Africa’s efforts to address climate change, including most recently support provided by the US to South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership.”
George urged the Trump administration to take its commitments under international law seriously and carefully consider the ramifications of its intended withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
“South Africa has full confidence in, and reiterates its unwavering commitment to, the realisation of the goals set out in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement.
“We must, and will, seize this moment to innovate and drive forward sustainable solutions. The global effort to curb climate change and address its impacts cannot be put on hold. There is an urgent need for action. We remain hopeful that the momentum of the collective effort to address climate change will only accelerate,” the minister said.
The international community regards climate change as the single biggest threat to well-being, health and socio-economic development facing humanity. Its impact is “widespread, unprecedented and places a disproportionate and unjust burden” on the poorest and most vulnerable in South Africa, the continent and globally, he added.
Last year, the world breached the critical threshold of 1.5°C of global warming for the first time, signalling the urgency of immediate and strong action to avoid increasingly dangerous climate change impacts.
The Environmental Defence Fund, a global non-profit tackling climate change, said that the Trump administration’s abandonment of the agreement “does a major disservice to the American people, to the US economy and to the nation’s own credibility as a reliable partner …
“By shirking its responsibility, the Trump administration is denying the US the opportunity to help shape the world’s transition to clean energy. Other countries and communities will now fill the vacuum left by the US — and reap the benefits. The policy whiplash and isolation from the Paris Agreement creates uncertainty for American companies and could ultimately hold them back from remaining competitive on the global stage.”
Andreas Sieber, the associate director of policy and campaigns at 350.org, an international environmental organisation addressing climate change, said that the country’s exit signals to the world that the US — as the world’s second largest emitter historically — is “not only willing to abandon its moral responsibility but also to jeopardise its economic, trade and security alliances”.
“Leaving the Paris Agreement will certainly set the US back, both economically and diplomatically. Despite an administration that denies the climate crisis, the reality is that working on the solutions together is in everyone’s best interest. The energy transition in the US and the world will proceed, with or without Trumpʼs support.