The Nature Conservancy pledges to continue honoring the Paris Agreement

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. The agreement, a legally binding international treaty to limit global temperature from increasing more than 2°C (3.6°F), was designed to stave off the worst impacts of climate change.

When the U.S. first joined the Paris Agreement upon its creation in 2015, it committed to submitting a plan every five years describing the actions it would take to help achieve the agreement’s goals. The U.S. withdrew from the Paris Agreement in 2016 during the first Trump administration and rejoined in 2021 under President Joe Biden. During the Biden administration, the U.S. committed to more ambitious targets that ultimately led to the creation of federal policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The IRA and IIJA have already added 330,000 new jobs in clean energy and 670,000 in construction, and are projected to add millions more.

The following is a statement from TNC Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Morris.

“At The Nature Conservancy, science is our guidepost. More than 400 scientists at TNC are leading the way to conserving the lands and waters that all life depends on. So, when scientists tell us that limiting the global temperature from rising more than 2°C (3.6°F) will help protect the diversity of life on earth, we listen and we act. 

That is why TNC will continue to honor the Paris Agreement goals and help the U.S. do its part.

We are doing this through our work in federal policy, like defending the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the incentives they provide. These policies help real Americans, like Bobby Stallard, a retired coal miner in Kentucky. When he lost his home in a flood, the IRA helped him build a new one with rooftop solar panels. Now Bobby saves hundreds of dollars on his monthly electric bill.

We are doing this by advancing smart, ambitious state-level climate action policies. In Massachusetts, TNC helped develop a clean energy policy that gets renewable energy built faster in places that are good for people and nature. And in Washington state, TNC upheld the Climate Commitment Act, which invests in programs to keep our air and water clean while spurring an estimated 45,000 new jobs over the coming years.

We are doing this by working with businesses to support them with the tools they need to build clean and renewable energy in ways that help communities see real benefits and let nature thrive. Our work with corporations is helping honor the nation’s energy legacy by transforming one of the largest former coal mines in the U.S. to become one of the biggest renewable energy centers in the country.

And we are doing this by using nature as a solution. Through practices like improved forest management and restoring coastal wetlands, we are tackling the root cause of climate change—an action that 94% of Americans support.

We have years, not decades, to solve the climate crisis. We know that the warmer the temperature gets, the more immense the consequences felt by people and nature. The U.S. is the world’s largest historical greenhouse gas emitter and has a critical role to play in tackling climate change. Climate action in the U.S. signals to other countries to follow suit. The world needs the U.S. to be a leader on climate.

Even though the U.S. government has pulled out of the Paris Agreement, Americans can still indicate commitment by continuing to invest in clean energy, smart climate policies and natural climate solutions. We invite other organizations, businesses, states, tribes and local governments in the U.S. to join TNC in staying committed to the Paris Agreement.”