US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from dozens of international organizations, including many that work to combat climate change.
Among the 66 groups, nearly half are United Nations bodies, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the treaty that underpins all international efforts to combat global warming.
The White House said the decision was made because the organizations “no longer serve American interests” and are promoting “ineffective or hostile agendas.”
Trump has already stripped funds from many multilateral organizations he doesn't like and has previously dismissed the scientific consensus on man-made climate change as a “hoax.”
The memo was signed Wednesday after reviewing what the White House said was a “waste of taxpayer dollars.”
“These divestments will end American taxpayer funding and participation in organizations that place globalist agendas above U.S. priorities,” the statement said.
He added that many organizations promote “radical climate policies, global governance and ideological agendas that are contrary to the sovereignty and economic power of the United States.”
The list also included the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an expert body that evaluates climate science around the world.
Other UN organizations affected included those working on peace and democracy, family planning, maternal and child health, and sexual violence in conflict.
While the US Constitution allows presidents to join treaties “provided that two-thirds of the senators present concur,” it does not specify what would happen if they withdraw from the agreement, meaning Trump's move could face legal challenges.
A member of the US-based non-profit advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists called the move a “new low”.
Senior policy director Rachel Cleetus told AFP news agency it was another sign that the administration, which she called “authoritarian” and “anti-science”, was determined to sacrifice people's well-being and destabilize global cooperation.
Last year, Trump again withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement, the world's most important effort to combat rising temperatures, and refused to send a delegation to the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
