The United States formally left the Paris Agreement on January 27, 2026. The withdrawal took effect one year after the United Nations received the formal notification, which President Donald Trump ordered on his first day back in office in January 2025. The UN had confirmed the effective date shortly after receiving the notice, and the New York Times reported on January 27 that the exit was complete.
This is the second time the United States has left the agreement. The first withdrawal, ordered during Trump's first term, took effect in November 2020, and President Joe Biden rejoined in February 2021. The Paris Agreement requires a one-year waiting period between notification and withdrawal, which is why the effective date fell a year after the 2025 executive order.
What changes
As a non-party, the United States is no longer bound by the agreement's obligations to submit nationally determined contributions, to report under the enhanced transparency framework or to participate in the five-year global stocktake. The NDC submitted by the Biden administration in December 2024, which set a target of cutting net greenhouse gas emissions by 61% to 66% below 2005 levels by 2035, no longer has formal standing under the treaty.
The United States remains a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 1992 treaty under which the Paris Agreement sits, unless it withdraws from that as well. The Congressional Research Service has noted that leaving the UNFCCC would raise separate legal questions, because the Senate gave its advice and consent to that treaty. As a UNFCCC party, the United States can still attend annual climate conferences, though it has not sent high-level delegations under the current administration.
Climate finance
The administration has already ended US participation in several climate finance initiatives. In March 2025 it withdrew from the Just Energy Transition Partnerships with South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam. It has also halted contributions to the Green Climate Fund and other multilateral climate funds. The new collective quantified goal on climate finance agreed at COP29 assumed contributions from all developed countries, and the absence of US funding increases the share expected from Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia and multilateral development banks.
Energy policy context
The withdrawal is one part of a broader shift in US energy and climate policy. The administration has declared a national energy emergency, moved to expand oil, gas and coal production, proposed and then finalized changes to federal methane rules, and proposed rescinding the 2009 endangerment finding that underpins federal greenhouse gas regulation. Congress repealed or phased down several clean energy tax credits in the 2025 budget law.
At the same time, US electricity demand is rising after two decades of little growth, driven by data centers, manufacturing and electrification. Utilities are adding gas-fired generation, solar and batteries to meet that demand. Many states, including California and New York, maintain their own climate targets, and a coalition of states and local governments has said it will continue to pursue emissions reductions consistent with the Paris goals.
Effect on energy trade
For US energy exporters, the withdrawal has limited direct effect on trade. LNG buyers in Europe and Asia sign contracts based on price, security of supply and flexibility. However, importing jurisdictions are adopting climate-related rules that apply regardless of the exporter's treaty status. The EU methane regulation requires equivalent monitoring, reporting and verification for imported gas from 2027. The EU carbon border adjustment mechanism applies to imports of steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, hydrogen and electricity, with the definitive period starting in January 2026.
US companies operating internationally also face disclosure rules in other jurisdictions. The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive applies to large non-EU companies with significant EU revenue, although its scope was narrowed in late 2025. California's climate disclosure laws apply to large companies doing business in the state.
International reaction
Other major emitters have said they will remain in the agreement. China submitted its first absolute emissions target for 2035 in September 2025, pledging to cut net emissions 7% to 10% from peak levels. The EU agreed its 2035 NDC range and a 2040 target in late 2025. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said the agreement will continue without the United States, as it did during the first withdrawal.
Analysts have noted that the absence of the United States affects the balance of negotiations, particularly on finance and on language about fossil fuels. It may also affect the willingness of some other countries to raise their ambition, though no other party has announced a withdrawal.
Corporate commitments
Many large US companies have their own climate targets, often set through the Science Based Targets initiative. The withdrawal does not change those commitments, though some companies have revised or softened targets in response to higher costs or changing policy. Large technology companies, whose data center growth is driving electricity demand, continue to report emissions and buy clean power, while acknowledging that their emissions have risen as they expand AI infrastructure.
Subnational action
Several US states have continued to set their own targets and programs. California runs a cap-and-trade program linked with Quebec, and a group of northeastern states operates the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative for power plants. Washington state has its own cap-and-invest program. These programs set carbon prices that affect power generation and fuel costs within their borders, independent of the federal position.
Data and reporting
One practical consequence concerns data. Under the Paris transparency framework, parties submit biennial transparency reports and national greenhouse gas inventories that are reviewed by technical experts. The United States had a long record of detailed inventory reporting through the Environmental Protection Agency. As a UNFCCC party it still has inventory reporting obligations under the convention, but the administration has reduced some federal climate data programs, and the frequency and detail of future reports is uncertain. Researchers and markets that rely on official emissions data may turn more to independent sources, satellite measurements and company disclosures.
What to watch
The key questions are whether the United States participates in COP31 in Antalya in November 2026, whether it moves to leave the UNFCCC, and how state-level policies and corporate procurement develop in the absence of a federal commitment. For energy markets, the direct effects of the withdrawal are smaller than those of domestic regulatory changes, but it removes the international framework that a future administration could use to set targets.