Trump's move to pull US from key UN climate treaty may be illegal, experts say

"In a Wednesday presidential memorandum, the president said the US shall withdraw from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), along with 65 other organizations, agencies and commissions that it deemed contrary to the interests of the United States. It marks the first time any country has ever moved to exit the agreement. The UN climate body requires one year's notice for withdrawal, so the United States will not cease being a party for a year."

"The person also referred the Guardian to secretary of state Marco Rubio's Wednesday statement, where he said the Trump administration is exiting institutions and treaties which it believes to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation's sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity."

"Because the country entered the UNFCCC with the consultation and approval of the Senate in 1992, there is an open question about whether or not the president can unilaterally exit the agreement, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert at Columbia University, wrote in an email. The UNFCCC and the Paris climate agreement the landmark 2015 climate pact underpinned by the UNFCCC, from which Trump pulled the US last January both say that parties may withdraw with one ye"

The president issued a memorandum ordering US withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and 65 related organizations, marking the first attempted exit from the agreement. The UNFCCC requires one year's notice, so the United States will remain a party for a year unless formal termination procedures are executed. The memorandum did not specify whether a formal notice to the UN would be filed. A state department spokesperson said the agency will take necessary steps to effectuate withdrawal. Legal experts note that because the Senate consulted and approved US entry in 1992, unilateral presidential withdrawal raises constitutional and legal questions.

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