President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from foundational United Nations climate agreements goes far beyond a symbolic move and fundamentally alters the legal framework of international climate policy, according to climate policy analyst Marc Morano.
Morano discussed the issue during an exchange with Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, arguing that Trump’s latest actions prevent future administrations from easily rejoining the UN climate system without Senate approval.
Campos-Duffy opened the discussion by asking Morano to explain the significance of the move.
“Doing it again with this agreement. Why don’t you break down what this actually means is this more than a symbolic gesture?” Campos-Duffy asked.
Morano said the withdrawal marks a decisive break from what he described as years of back-and-forth climate policy between administrations.
“Yes, if you know, we’ve been going through the yin yang of this climate policy for over a decade, Obama, Trump, Biden Trump, and so what the problem is, if a future president, AOC or Gavin Newsom comes in, they just put us right back in,” Morano said.
Morano explained that Trump’s current action differs from his first-term withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement because it targets the legal foundation of the UN’s entire climate structure. He compared the move to removing the base of a Jenga tower.
“So what Donald Trump’s done this time different than just pulling us out of the UN Paris Climate Impact. Think of it like a Jenga table. He’s pulled out the base of the Jenga table and it’s collapsing,” Morano said.
According to Morano, that base is the 1992 Rio Earth Summit agreement formally known as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“This is the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Treaty. That is the foundation for all of the madness,” Morano said.
“I was going to say mandates, but actually mandates madness, same thing.”
Morano said the treaty underpins every major UN climate initiative dating back more than three decades.
“And this goes back to 1992. This is net zero. This is the UN climate treaties. This is the entire United Nations climate agenda, the grandfather of them all,” he said.
Morano said legal analysts have noted that withdrawing from the framework treaty significantly raises the barrier for reentry.
“By withdrawing from this there’s legal analysts say, and according to Politico and other publications, you’re going to need the next President to resubmit for Senate ratification to get us back into this mess,” Morano said.
He described the move as a major escalation from Trump’s first term.
“So Trump 2.0 has gone and exceeded everything, beyond what Trump 1.0 in his first term, did,” Morano said.
Morano also noted additional international withdrawals he characterized as significant policy shifts.
“And we’re also out of the UN Population Fund, which is a great thing. We’re also out of the UN climate panel, the IPCC,” he said.
Morano criticized the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, describing it as politically driven rather than scientific.
“Which was merely a political body masquerading as a science panel that had to take their orders line by line from politicians when they would do their climate reports,” he said.
Morano concluded by framing the withdrawals as a turning point in U.S. international regulatory policy.
“So this is a day of liberation. This is true America First. One of the most significant things he’s done in his presidency when it comes to international regulatory policy,” Morano said.
WATCH: