The US climate cop-out should galvanize others

America's withdrawal from the global battle against climate change is a signal for the rest of the world to unite for the greater good. The cause is vital, not the participation of the US

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What does the US withdrawal from 66 international organizations, especially the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), mean for the already halfhearted multilateral efforts to tackle one of our biggest ever problems?

Very simply, the glacial pace of progress in tackling climate change is likely to slow down further. The US has now pulled out from all major initiatives to keep the planet we inhabit from warming too much. Sure, the US had given notice of its exit from the Paris agreement of 2015-due to come into effect later this month-soon after its President Donald Trump took office last January. So the fact that the country has turned its back on the UNFCCC, under whose aegis global talks are held, should not have come as a surprise.