Can President Trump legally pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change?

The document analyzes three legal pathways for the US to exit the Paris Agreement: direct withdrawal from the Agreement (effective November 4, 2020), withdrawal from the UNFCCC (potentially effective by January 20, 2018), or simple non-compliance. It concludes that unilateral 'cancellation' is not legally possible and warns that such actions would violate international law and increase climate-related financial risks for businesses.

• President-elect Trump cannot unilaterally 'cancel' the Paris Agreement. Direct withdrawal under Article 28 is only permitted three years after the agreement entered into force, meaning the US could not give notice until 4 November 2019, with the withdrawal taking effect on 4 November 2020.
• A faster route to exit the Paris Agreement would be to withdraw from the underlying United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Under Article 25 of the UNFCCC, withdrawal takes effect one year after notice is given; if notice were provided on the first day of office, the US could be out by 20 January 2018.
• Alternatively, the US could choose non-compliance by disregarding the Paris Agreement or abandoning domestic policies like the Clean Power Plan. Because the Agreement has few binding or coercive mechanisms, this approach could be as disruptive as formal withdrawal, though it would breach international law and potentially lead to a UN General Assembly resolution referring the matter to the International Court of Justice.
• US withdrawal from these international frameworks would likely increase climate-related financial risks for companies and the financial sector, thereby increasing the legal duties of company directors and investors to mitigate those risks.

APA

ClientEarth (2016). Can President Trump legally pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change? https://www.clientearth.org/media/mawjdeyg/clientearth-briefing-can-trump-cancel-the-paris-agreement-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Can President Trump legally pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change? 2016. https://www.clientearth.org/media/mawjdeyg/clientearth-briefing-can-trump-cancel-the-paris-agreement-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Can President Trump legally pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change? |date=11 November 2016 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/mawjdeyg/clientearth-briefing-can-trump-cancel-the-paris-agreement-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2016can, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Can President Trump legally pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change?}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/mawjdeyg/clientearth-briefing-can-trump-cancel-the-paris-agreement-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }