[STATEMENT] USA’s withdrawal from global climate treaty and other international organizations an evasion of climate justice

The Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders (APNED) cautions against the effects of the recent mass withdrawal of the United States of America from 66 international organizations, conventions, and treaties, including key international organizations such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,  Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, among others. This mirrors the move that current US President Donald Trump made in his previous term to pull out the USA from the UNFCCC, which weakened the overall strength and legitimacy of UN climate talks and was a huge blow to the Global South’s campaign for financing loss and damage.

While the USA, for the longest time, has used its massive economic and political influence within these organizations in order to serve and protect the interests of the State and corporations in their country, such as massive oil magnates, these organizations have also been instrumental in extracting even incremental reparations from the world’s biggest polluter and contributor to climate change. Measures such as the Nationally Determined Contributions and climate finance have been positive steps towards holding the US and other historical emitters in the Global North accountable to the least emitting countries from the Global South. 

Withdrawing from initiatives like the UN Democracy Fund will also further weaken critical development finance, which funds the work of environmental and other human rights defenders not just in Asia and the Pacific, but the entire world. The US’ move may also accelerate the trend of shifting support and finance away from multilateralism and development work to respond to global conflicts, all while pushing the flow of resources into directing military interventions and expansion to secure economic interests, such as its sequestration of Venezuela’s oil supply, following military operations and the detention of Nicolas Maduro. The USA also withdrew from human rights mechanisms like the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children in Armed Conflict, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, which weakens protections for defenders and vulnerable communities, especially in areas of armed conflict. 

As the US pulls resources and weakens protections for defenders, it is the Global South that is being made more vulnerable to climate shocks, and we must make a stand against the expansion of US military operations that is neither for the environment nor for the vast majority of people, including ordinary American citizens.

The USA is effectively evading any and all demands, even at the bare minimum, for the US to do its part in achieving real climate justice, as the number one historical polluter in the world. 

Countries in Asia and the Pacific have suffered for too long from global climate injustice. Our contributions to emissions have been some of the lowest in the world, but we are also some of the most affected by the negative impacts of climate change which have hindered our development. We must not let the USA unshackle itself from the already bare minimum commitments it has made in order to rectify the damage it has caused to the Global South and to our planet. 

We call on fellow environmental defenders to expose this move by the USA as what it is – not a measure to protect common citizens, but an evasion of climate justice and accountability on a global scale. 

Climate justice and accountability now!