2 weeks ago
12
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Officials and business executives at the annual gathering in Switzerland said the fight against global would continue with or without the United States.
- Jan. 21, 2025, 2:39 p.m. ET
When President Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement on Monday as part of his flurry of moves upon taking office, it represented a shot across the bow of the world leaders and chief executives gathered in Davos, Switzerland.
Many of the political and business figures attending the World Economic Forum’s annual conference support efforts to combat climate change, including the Paris Agreement, which almost all nations agreed to in 2015. Pulling the United States out of the pact is a signal of both the administration’s lack of concern about rising planet-warming emissions, and also a rebuke of the kind of multilateralism that has come to define Davos.
The World Economic Forum’s annual gathering has a long-running focus on climate and the environment. “Safeguarding the planet” is one of the conference’s five themes this year, and surveys by the organization rank extreme weather as one of the world’s top threats.
For years, the policymakers and companies in Davos have promoted their efforts to reduce emissions, embrace clean energy and work collaboratively to blunt global warming.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Tuesday that President Trump’s actions would not lead Europe to change its plans. “Europe will stay the course and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming,” she said. “The Paris Agreement continues to be the best hope for all humanity.”
Simon Stiell, the United Nations climate chief, said the shift to clean power would happen with or without the United States.
