Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will be withdrawing from the Paris Agreement for the second time. As urgency grows around the need to address climate change, this decision is a step in the wrong direction.
Climate change is the single greatest environmental threat facing humanity and it is worsening by the day – not only was 2024 the hottest year on record, it was also the year that the 1.5 Celsius threshold set by the Paris Agreement was exceeded for the first time. To understand the impacts of climate change and what the cost of inaction means for people and the planet, we need to look no further than the recent wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles, the hurricanes that destroyed parts of North Carolina and Florida last year, and the extreme heat that resulted in more than 2,300 heat-related deaths across the U.S. in 2023.
In addition to creating a global framework to fight against climate change, the Paris Agreement is one of the only global treaties to recognize the role of forests in slowing and adapting to climate change. Forests and forest products in the U.S. capture and store more than a quarter of our emissions each year, making them one of the most powerful natural solutions to climate change. They also serve as nature’s air conditioning to cool cities and landscapes, help to filter our air and water, and provide a safe habitat for wildlife.
The withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement does not mean our work stops. American Forests believes in “One Nation, Under Trees” and remains committed to advancing actions, policies and investments that deliver climate-smart forest restoration practices and establish the life-saving infrastructure of healthy, resilient trees and forests that help mitigate the impacts of climate change for our people and environment.
Healthy, resilient trees fuel our economy and are critical to mitigating the impacts of climate change. Through our programs, we have witnessed how trees benefit us all by creating economic opportunities, improving public health and enhancing climate resilience in our cities and vast forest landscapes.
Continuing our 150-year track record of bipartisan partnership, American Forests will continue to engage with leaders at all levels of government who share in our mission to bring the health, economic and environmental benefits of trees and forests to all communities, while contributing to the collective global efforts to combat climate change.