Deceit and intimidation

US EXIT FROM GLOBAL BODIES FOLLOWS PAST CHICANERY, MAY NOW GIVE DEVELOPING WORLD A GREATER SAY

- SOMIT DASGUPTA

AFTER WITHDRAWING FROM the Paris Agreement (PA) for the second time, the US administration recently dissociated itself from 66 international organisations out of which 31 were linked to the United Nations (UN).

The organisations from where the US withdrew are involved in a host of activities, which include climate change bodies such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and also others like the International Solar Alliance, UN Population Fund, UN Conference to Trade and Development, UN Women, etc. The US government opined that the functioning of these organisations was contrary to its interest, and constraining its sovereignty apart from wasting taxpayers’ money. The immediate impact of the US move would be a cutback on jobs. And of course, there are larger issues involved since organisations like the UNFCCC and IPCC are affected.

I would like to argue about issues only related to climate change. Before taking a deep dive into the US action, as an eye opener, it would be good to see its role in carbon emissions (see table).