President Trump plans to go after the Paris climate change agreement on Thursday, almost as an aside.
He will be signing executive orders to more broadly eliminate U.S. involvement and funding in international organizations, targeting the United Nations.
At least two orders are expected to be signed by Trump this week, including one called “Auditing and Reducing U.S. Funding of International Organizations.”
This calls for the termination of funding for any U.N. agency, or other international grouping, that meets specific criteria that would include the Paris deal, according to the New York Times. A second order would target multi-lateral treaties .
Pulling out of the Paris deal was a promise Trump made to supporters to accomplish in his first 100 days. The action that is expected Thursday does not directly target the climate agreement, but the way it is structured is being interpreted as roping in the deal among a number of other U.N. programs and sub-groups.
The Paris deal was a non-binding agreement codified within the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“[F]rom what we’ve seen the [executive order] does not mention the Paris Agreement directly, but rather that would be reviewed by default if in fact all multilateral treaties are to be reviewed,” said Rhys Gerholdt, spokesman for the environmental think tank World Resources Institute.
Environmental groups began sounding the alarm bells after the New York Times reported on draft copies of the orders that it had obtained.
The World Resources Institute’s climate change program director, David Waskow, is curious to see what authority Trump is using to justify the move, since defunding any U.N. obligations would take congressional action from appropriators.
“It’s hard to know what its effect is,” said Waskow, without seeing the executive order. “One of the questions I’ve had is what the executive authority is they are going on, given that appropriations generally can direct those decisions.”
One of the top criteria for cutting support for U.N. involvement is whether or not the specific international body gives full membership to the Palestinian Authority or Palestine Liberation Organization.
Other criteria would include support for programs that fund abortion, and activities that look to circumvent sanctions against Iran and North Korea.
Trump would also cut funding for any program that “is controlled or substantially influenced by any state that sponsors terrorism” or is involved in human rights violations.
The auditing order also calls for an overall decrease in U.S. funding to international groups by 40 percent. The second order on treaties would call for a review of all international agreements the U.S. has entered into and offer recommendations.
