President Donald Trump issued an executive order yesterday evening removing the United States from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), ending decades of global cooperation on climate change.  

The treaty—unanimously ratified by the Senate in the early 1990s—created the UNFCCC, which advises participating countries to limit their greenhouse gas emissions and calls for continued climate research. The UNFCCC has 198 parties, representing virtually every nation in the world. 

The executive order also removed the United States from more than 60 international organizations that the president believes no longer serves the nation’s interests.  

Following the announcement, the BlueGreen Alliance issued a statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh:  

“Trump is hell bent on destroying not only any meaningful climate action for our country but for the entire planet. He’s already ceded our climate leadership with short-sighted policy changes and ignorant statements denying climate science. Now, he’s given up our seat at the table for the world’s most important global climate decisions. He isn’t protecting our tax dollars, he’s undermining any sustainable future we hope to have.”