Pacific nations react to Trump’s order withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement

Vanuatu climate action

“Rise for climate to build a fossil-free world’ action in Port Vila, Vanuatu in September 2018. Photo from Flickr account of 350.org. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Several Pacific leaders and institutions have expressed concern over the withdrawal of the United States of America from the Paris Agreement and what it means for the future of global climate action.

US President Donald Trump signed the order after his inauguration, which would stop the US government’s contribution to the loss and damage funds under the agreement signed in 2015. As of 2024, the US covered about 22 percent of the budget for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC ) for 2024–2025, totaling about USD 7.5 million.

Trump also withdrew the US from the climate treaty during his first term in 2017, but his successor reversed this decision in 2021. The landmark Paris Agreement binds 196 nations to work together toward bringing the global temperature down to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

According to the October 2024 report from the United Nations Environmental Programme, global greenhouse gas emissions continued to increase in 2023, with wealthy countries like the US producing around 77 percent of all emissions. In comparison, Pacific island nations account for just 0.02 percent of global emissions.

Despite this gap, Pacific nations are more prone to the harsh impacts of climate change, such as severe cyclones, rising sea levels, land degradation, and more. These disasters have displaced communities, destroyed livelihoods, undermined local economies, and created significant social strife in many countries.

Asked during a panel at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, about Trump’s executive order, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape reminded the US to consider its “moral responsibility”:

While it is not my place to advise the government of America, it is prudent that the biggest holder of carbon footprint takes the greater responsibility (because) much of the burden is being borne by those of us with the least carbon footprint.

There is a moral responsibility by each global leader to think from the global perspective instead of from their own national-interest perspective.

Evidence shows that we are at a tipping point, almost reaching the end of earth’s sustainability level. If this planet sinks, we all sink with it. There is no second Earth.

Vanuatu Attorney General Arnold Loughman called Trump’s action a “troubling precedent” and “bad behavior” that would have grave consequences in the region. He warned that the US government's withdrawal from the agreement would severely affect international climate financing.

These funds are essential for building resilience and supporting adaptation strategies. Losing this support could severely hinder ongoing and future projects aimed at protecting our vulnerable ecosystems and communities.

Vanuatu was among the countries that submitted a petition to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) urging the United Nations body to issue an opinion about the obligation of states to address global warming under international laws and the penalties for the failure to act.

Fiji Prime Minister and former Minister for Climate Change Sitiveni Rabuka said that Pacific nations are now rethinking their climate action plans.

It will force us to rethink our position, some of us have been worrying, thinking about how the West particularly those closer to cooperation partners in the Pacific such as Australia and New Zealand.

We try to comply with the demand for protocols about carbon emission.

We have been with the rest of the world encouraging those that have been extracting or exporting fossil fuel to scale down.

His minister for environment and climate change told the media that the government has already written a letter urging Trump to reconsider his decision.

In a Facebook post, New Zealand’s former Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, believes that the withdrawal of the US will allow China to expand its influence in multilateral institutions.

…guess who'll step up big time to take their place as a leading force for global multilateral organizations? — it will be China!

…when the great USA withdraws from these global organizations and doesn’t want to pay their fees etc. it just means, China can now go about providing a global leadership role in these organizations without any interference from the USA. If you can’t count on your traditional allies and partners like the USA who else will step up big time in supporting small island states like the Pacific?

In an editorial, Samoa Observer called out Trump for dismissing the devastating impact of climate change.

For Trump, climate change is a hoax, for Pacific nations like Samoa, it is a reality we are living in. Maybe the Los Angeles fires and the hurricanes last year are not enough for one of the world’s richest men to realise that it is not a hoax.

A former Fiji minister posted on X that Pacific residents will continue to fight for a climate-resilient future.

Perhaps Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. should extend another invitation to Trump to snorkel in the waters of the Pacific and witness the degradation of the ecosystem caused by climate change. In December 2024, Surangel Whipps Jr told the media about his proposal to invite Trump to the next meeting of Pacific leaders.

I would very much like to bring [Trump] to Palau if he can. That would be a fantastic opportunity to take him snorkelling and see the impacts. See the islands that are disappearing because of sea level rise, see the taro swamps that are being invaded.

The decision is also causing waves in the US, where several politicians and environmental advocates are pushing back on Trump's decision. US Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has also announced he will step in to personally fund the Paris Climate Agreement, matching the amount the US has withdrawn.

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