US exits UN climate change bodies, climate fund: Update

Market: Emissions
08/01/26

Adds GCF exit details, UNFCCC comment

The US has withdrawn from 66 organisations, many focused on environmental and climate topics, including UN bodies the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The US has also left the UN Green Climate Fund (GCF) — the world's biggest climate fund — and will relinquish its seat on the fund's board, it said today. The administration in February 2025 cancelled about $4bn in pledged GCF funding.

"Our nation will no longer fund radical organizations like the GCF whose goals run contrary to the fact that affordable, reliable energy is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction", US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said.

The UNFCCC now has 198 parties. It was established in 1992, and is the overarching global framework for climate action, encompassing the annual Cop climate summits and the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The latter has 194 signatories, after President Donald Trump pulled the US out in January 2025. Given the scale of UNFCCC membership, events such as Cops offer a rare opportunity for almost-total multilateralism.

The IPCC, which was established in 1988, counts 194 countries as members. It assesses science related to climate change. Its reports collate best-available science and research and are viewed as the primary authority on climate change science.

The US is also leaving other UN bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including the International Renewable Energy Agency, the International Solar Alliance, and energy producer-consumer dialogue group the International Energy Forum.

"Many international organizations now serve a globalist project rooted in the discredited fantasy of the 'End of History', the White House said. "These organizations actively seek to constrain American sovereignty.

"We will not continue expending resources, diplomatic capital, and the legitimizing weight of our participation in institutions that are irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests", it said.

The US did not attend Cop 30 in November, although several US governors and regional leaders did. The US decision to leave the UNFCCC "is a strategic blunder that gives away American advantage for nothing in return," non-profit WRI's director of the US segment David Widawsky said. "Walking away doesn't just put America on the sidelines — it takes the US out of the arena entirely. American communities and businesses will lose economic ground as other countries capture the jobs, wealth, and trade created by the booming clean-energy economy."

California governor Gavin Newsom (Democrat) made a similar point at Cop 30, noting China's power in clean energy and electric vehicle markets. Trump "simply doesn't understand how enthusiastic President Xi [Jinping] is today that the Trump administration is nowhere to be found at Cop 30", Newsom said.

"This latest step back from global leadership, climate co-operation and science can only harm the US economy, jobs and living standards, as wildfires, floods, mega-storms and droughts get rapidly worse. It is a colossal own goal which will leave the US less secure and less prosperous", UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell said today.

"It will mean less affordable energy, food, transport and insurance for American households and businesses, as renewables keep getting cheaper than fossil fuels, as climate-driven disasters hit American crops, businesses and infrastructure harder each year, and as oil, coal and gas volatility drives more conflicts, regional instability and forced migration", Stiell added.

The US decision is "regrettable and unfortunate", EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said. He reiterated the bloc's commitment to climate research, co-operation and action — which it pledged, along with China when the US left the Paris accord in January 2025.

Bloomberg Philanthropies in January 2025 said it and other US bodies would ensure the US met funding and reporting obligations to the UNFCCC. This is not the international climate finance often discussed at UNFCCC talks, but funding that helps the climate body operate and host events such as Cops.

By Georgia Gratton

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

News

08/01/26

US exits UN climate change bodies, multiple NGOs

London, 8 January (Argus) — The US has withdrawn from 66 organisations, many focused on environmental and climate topics, including UN bodies the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The UNFCCC now has 198 parties. It was established in 1992, and is the overarching global framework for climate action, encompassing the annual Cop climate summits and the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The latter has 194 signatories, after President Donald Trump pulled the US out in January 2025 . Given the scale of UNFCCC membership, events such as Cops offer a rare opportunity for almost-total multilateralism. The IPCC, which was established in 1988, counts 194 countries as members. It assesses science related to climate change. Its reports collate best-available science and research and are viewed as the primary authority on climate change science. The US is also leaving other UN bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and the International Solar Alliance. "Many international organizations now serve a globalist project rooted in the discredited fantasy of the 'End of History', the White House said "These organizations actively seek to constrain American sovereignty. "We will not continue expending resources, diplomatic capital, and the legitimizing weight of our participation in institutions that are irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests", it said. The US did not attend Cop 30 in November, although several US governors and regional leaders did . The US decision to leave the UNFCCC "is a strategic blunder that gives away American advantage for nothing in return," said non-profit WRI's director of the US segment David Widawsky. "Walking away doesn't just put America on the sidelines — it takes the US out of the arena entirely. American communities and businesses will lose economic ground as other countries capture the jobs, wealth, and trade created by the booming clean-energy economy." California governor Gavin Newsom (D) made a similar point at Cop 30, noting China's power in clean energy and electric vehicle markets. Trump "simply doesn't understand how enthusiastic President Xi [Jinping] is today that the Trump administration is nowhere to be found at Cop 30", Newsom said. The US decision is "regrettable and unfortunate", said EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra. He reiterated the bloc's commitment to climate research, co-operation and action — which it pledged, along with China when the US left the Paris accord in January 2025. Bloomberg Philanthropies in January 2025 said it and other US bodies would ensure the US met funding and reporting obligations to the UNFCCC. This is not the international climate finance often discussed at UNFCCC talks, but funding that helps the climate body operate and host events such as Cops. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Find out more

News

US E15 talks continue as funding crunch looms

07/01/26

News

07/01/26

US E15 talks continue as funding crunch looms

New York, 7 January (Argus) — Energy groups are still negotiating legislation to expand access to a higher-ethanol gasoline blend and rein in refiners' ability to skirt biofuel mandates, as a looming funding impasse adds urgency to the talks. Negotiations that include the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the ethanol advocates Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association continue, three people familiar with the talks told Argus . The hope is to reach some compromise on a bill that could revamp retail fuel markets in the US and convince lawmakers to add it to a larger package, potentially legislation to fund the government after 30 January. The powerful oil group withdrew support for a slimmer bill last year that would have allowed year-round sales of gasoline with 15pc ethanol (E15) and is pushing instead for a broader package that would make it harder for small refineries to win hardship exemptions from annual biofuel mandates. President Donald Trump's administration granted dozens of those hardship requests last year and floated making companies without exemptions blend more biofuels to compensate , unnerving oil majors and reshuffling the E15 debate. Smog rules separately limit summertime sales of E15 in most of the country without emergency waivers, which advocates say has deterred retailers from investing in new infrastructure. Most US gasoline is sold as a 10pc ethanol blend. The API and the ethanol groups agree on the general framework of a bill that would authorize E15 year-round and limit future exemptions from biofuel mandates, including by preventing larger refiners that own small units like Delek and Par Pacific from requesting relief. The groups plan to support adding new exemption provisions to existing E15 bill text rather than push lawmakers to scrap that draft, two people familiar with the talks said. But there are still thorny issues to resolve — such as the effective date for any changes — and some provisions risk riling energy and farm interests otherwise on board with reining in exemptions. Adding to, rather than replacing, the current E15 bill would, for instance, keep a provision effectively compensating some small refineries for past biofuel mandates. That draft would return compliance credits to certain refiners and — unlike current rules where credits expire — allow their use in future years. Even small facilities can spend tens of millions of dollars each year buying enough credits to comply with the mandates, and returned credits usable indefinitely would be even more valuable. Eligibility is limited to small refineries that retired credits to meet biofuel mandates in 2016, 2017 or 2018 and had hardship petitions outstanding to start December 2022, as well as companies that complied with 2018 quotas and had petitions denied before July 2022. EPA exemption data those years is limited, making it unclear which companies would benefit. Calling on Congress The groups working on revised bill text have another challenge: convincing Congress to act. Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association and dozens of other farm and biofuel groups urged Congress to pass some E15 fix "as soon as possible" in a joint letter to House and Senate leaders on Wednesday, a nod to the looming deadline to fund the government before a potential shutdown later this month. E15 legislation is unlikely to pass on its own, so lobbyists are closely tracking the legislative calendar for opportunities to add it to larger packages. The letter does not mention the API talks, which are proceeding separately. Small refiners worried about losing access to relief — at the same time as the Trump administration readies what could be record-high biofuel quotas for the next two years — will also press sympathetic lawmakers. Notably, a statement accompanying a bipartisan appropriations bill draft released this week recommends that EPA rethink "policies and procedures" for exemptions in response to a 2022 Government Accountability Office analysis that criticized the agency's approach. That watchdog report questioned EPA's argument that small refineries can easily pass on the costs of meeting biofuel mandates in fuel sales. Energy lobbyists noted that the statement's recommendations are nonbinding and that similar language around exemptions has appeared in past statements accompanying appropriations bills. But it signals that some members of Congress might oppose any changes to fuel policy that could raise costs for refineries in their districts and states. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Saudi Arabia targets net GHG cuts of 335mn t/yr by 2040

06/01/26

News

06/01/26

Saudi Arabia targets net GHG cuts of 335mn t/yr by 2040

London, 6 January (Argus) — Saudi Arabia has put forward a target to "reduce, avoid, and remove" greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 335mn t/CO2 equivalent (CO2e) annually over 2030-40, from a 2019 baseline. This will be reached "through a combination of GHG and non-GHG metrics", the country said in its latest nationally determined contribution (NDC) climate plan under the Paris climate agreement. Non-GHG metrics include renewable energy capacity additions, afforestation, land restoration and initiatives to combat desertification, according to the NDC. Under its renewable energy scheme, Saudi Arabia has connected 12.3GW of renewable capacity to the grid, with 10.7GW under construction and 34.5GW under various stages of development, the plan said. Saudi Arabia based this NDC on a scenario of "economic diversification with a robust contribution based on income from hydrocarbon and its derivatives' export revenues", it said. It is the second-biggest oil producer globally, with vast reserves. Saudi Arabia plans to reach its emissions targets by improving energy efficiency and methane management, and by deploying carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), "clean hydrogen" and "lower carbon aviation fuel", it said. Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with "extremely high summer temperatures, very low annual rainfall, predominantly non-arable land, and a heavy reliance on deep confined groundwater resources", the plan noted. Water scarcity is one of the "most pressing concerns", it said. The NDC references Saudi Arabia's status as a developing country under UNFCCC classification, but notes the plan is not contingent on international financial support. Developing countries, as designated by the UNFCCC using lists from 1992 when the body was established, are eligible to receive finance from developed nations to help implement climate plans. The Saudi NDC also took aim at the EU's corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD) and carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAM). The EU's CBAM entered into force this year, and aims to spur lower-emissions industrial production in non-EU countries. The CSDDD will require companies operating in the EU to adhere to address human rights and environmental impacts across their value chains and operations. "These unilateral trade measures distort investment signals and affect the competitiveness and continuity of mitigation activities", Saudi Arabia said. CBAM has proved contentious at Cop climate summits , and the issue of unilateral trade measures was discussed at Cop 30 in November 2025 . Saudi Arabia's NDC represents more ambition than its previous plan in 2021, which aimed to reduce, avoid or remove GHG emissions of 278mn t/CO2e annually by 2030, from the same baseline of 2019. Countries that are signatories to the Paris agreement are required to submit NDCs every five years, encompassing increased climate ambition each time. The latest round of plans — requested by the UN for submission in February 2025 — were to map out countries' plans to 2035. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Viewpoint: Power demand to bolster RGGI sentiment

02/01/26

News

02/01/26

Viewpoint: Power demand to bolster RGGI sentiment

Houston, 2 January (Argus) — Projected increases in electricity demand continue to fuel bullish sentiment in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) CO2 allowance market, even with concerns over power affordability and federal threats to state climate policies. Electricity demand is the main factor driving bullish sentiment in the RGGI market due to more extreme temperatures in the region, state electrification initiatives, and the rapid buildout of power-hungry artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. But concerns over rising energy costs as well as federal hostility towards climate policy driven by President Donald Trump have cast a bearish shadow over the RGGI market. Allowance prices climbed in March after the first auction of the year cleared high enough to completely drain the cost-containment reserve (CCR) for 2025. But the market shed those gains soon afterwards, when Trump issued an executive order on 8 April targeting state and local climate laws that hinder US energy production. Fears that RGGI could be affected seeped into the market , and December 2025 allowances plummeted by 13.8pc to $18.54/short ton (st) on 9 April. But that legal uncertainty has largely taken a backseat to other concerns. Rising summer power demand quickly moved to the fore starting in May as expectations for higher emissions rose. Subsequent auctions cleared above the CCR trigger price of $17.03/st. The final auction of the year, which was held in December, cleared at a record high of $26.73/st. More recently, Democratic wins in the New Jersey and Virginia elections have boosted bullish sentiments in the RGGI market, which has been contending with strong compliance demand due to colder temperatures in the northeast US, spurring expectations for increased CO2 emissions. December 2025 allowances rose to a record high of $29.35/st on 1 December, surpassing California Carbon Allowance prices for the first time in RGGI's history. Driven by power demand Power demand has always driven the RGGI market, which seeks to lower power plant CO2 emissions. But the extent to which it has overtaken other regulatory and legal factors affecting the market is a relatively new trend. During the first few years of RGGI, demand and electricity consumption dropped due to economic reasons as well as other factors such as fuel switching, according to Justin Johnson, the RGGI representative for the International Emissions Trading Association. But in recent years, that trend has reversed. The production of electric vehicles (EV) and the installation of heat pumps rose markedly, while the proliferation of data centers has driven increased projections for electricity demand. Even recent declines in EV sales, resulting from a rollback in federal incentives, have not been enough to offset bullishness from anticipated data center power demand, which would require power plants to buy additional allowances, Johnson said. Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger's (D) victory in Virginia will likely allow for the state's reentry into RGGI, bolstering expectations for stronger future compliance demand. Virginia holds the largest data center market in the world, accounting for 35pc of the world's hyperscale data centers, according to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. But exactly how that power demand affects allowance prices depends on how Virginia's return takes shape. Spanberger has promised to negotiate a deal that best benefits ratepayers, though she has not yet elaborated on what that would look like. The main point of negotiation when it rejoins RGGI will likely be Virginia's allowance allocation. While member states have traditionally pushed back against providing allocations for incoming states, Virginia could leverage its growing data center market to receive enough allowances to minimize the effects of its reentry on the RGGI market, Johnson said. In addition, the cost of power in the state can be minimized depending on the ability of data centers to limit their activities for a given amount of time, which would help lower costs for ratepayers, said Dallas Burtraw, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future, a non-profit. Don't stop me now Much of the political rhetoric in the US has shifted towards affordability, with concerns over rising energy costs causing many northeastern states to retreat from ambitious climate initiatives. As a result, criticism of RGGI has increased. Over the past year, there have been some efforts to leave RGGI from Republicans in states like Delaware , Maine , and New Jersey. The most successful of those efforts was in Pennsylvania, where governor Josh Shapiro (D) has sought to balance environmental concerns with the state's role as a major electricity exporter and natural gas producer. In addition, his administration has been dealing with a lawsuit against Pennsylvania's participation in RGGI, and Republican lawmakers have made repeated attempts to repeal the state's CO2 trading regulation. This culminated in Pennsylvania leaving RGGI through a budget deal in November. Still, most efforts against RGGI this year have been unsuccessful, and the current policy backslide is unlikely to affect the program in any meaningful way going forward. "I'd like to think that RGGI has been around long enough and is predictable and consistent enough that it won't be a huge impact," Johnson said. Burtraw added that there is "an increasing recognition that carbon pricing and affordability are not inconsistent and, in fact, can mutually reinforce each other". In July, member states agreed to set a more-stringent emissions cap that falls to just over 9mn st by 2037. Member states must proceed with their individual rulemakings to implement those changes before 2027. The agreed to changes " strengthened the market . So, I would take that as a signal [of] RGGI's reaffirmation of its interim and long-run goals," Burtraw said. In addition, the RGGI allowance market "actually creates degrees of freedom for policymakers because it could be a source of revenue to help them achieve other goals, and one of those goals is affordability", Burtraw said. By Ida Balakrishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Viewpoint: US uses delays against 'green' policies

02/01/26

News

02/01/26

Viewpoint: US uses delays against 'green' policies

Washington, 2 January (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration has increasingly used regulatory delays to impede the growth of renewable energy projects, while giving fossil fuel companies years of additional time to comply with existing regulations. The delay tactics have proven to be a potent tool for the administration assault on what Trump calls the "Green New Scam", in some cases without having to complete time-consuming rulemakings that take months to finalize. And even when delays have failed to hold up in court, such as a judge's ruling in September lifting a "stop work" order against a $4bn offshore wind project called Revolution Wind, the administration has been able to effectively revive the order months later by citing "classified" national security concerns. Trump began freezing regulations issued under former president Joe Biden hours into his second term on 20 January 2025, and he has ramped up delays in recent months. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December delayed methane restrictions for oil and gas producers by 18 months and gave coal-fired power plants an extra five years to meet new wastewater standards. The US Interior Department recently issued guidance and directives providing one-year compliance delays for flaring rules and increased minimum bonds to cover decommissioning costs. The Interior Department throughout 2025 repeatedly targeted offshore wind projects that were under construction with "stop work" orders, some of which were later reversed by courts or rescinded in response to concessions related to pipelines . US interior secretary Doug Burgum subsequently issued an across-the-board pause on all five major offshore wind projects last week, citing national security. And in July, Burgum began requiring his personal approval for 69 different categories of reviews for wind and solar, with delays trickling down even for projects located on private land. "We now really have a question about whether American companies can go to a private piece of property and build something," American Clean Power Association chief executive Jason Grumet said in October. The delay tactics have echoes of a strategy deployed under former president Joe Biden, who imposed a year-long "pause" on issuing new LNG export licenses and repeatedly held up federal oil and gas lease sales. Oil and gas officials say they want permitting to be more durable for all types of energy resources but noted a lack of outcry from the renewable energy sector in the four years when Biden was delaying fossil fuel projects. "I didn't see a lot of clean energy lobbyists out there saying that, you know, we should get the Keystone XL pipeline built, or the Constitution pipeline built, or the Mountain Valley pipeline built," American Petroleum Institute chief executive Mike Sommers said on a podcast hosted by POLITICO in September. Democrats are hoping to extract a political price against Trump for delaying renewable energy. They say the administration's blockade against many wind and solar projects are partly to blame for rising electrical bills. Last week, Senate Democrats threatened to abandon bipartisan negotiations on permitting legislation in retaliation for Burgum's directive blocking construction on offshore wind development. "The illegal attacks on fully permitted renewable energy projects must be reversed if there is to be any chance that permitting talks resume," US senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) said on 22 December. The Trump administration plans to continue delays in coming months. EPA plans to propose in "early 2026" a two-year delay of Biden-era air pollution restrictions for cars and trucks sold starting in model year 2027, EPA's top air official Aaron Szabo wrote in an opinion piece published on 19 December in The Hill. The Biden-era vehicle rule was "infeasible" and "unrealistic", Szabo said. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more

US exits UN climate change bodies, climate fund: Update

Related news posts

US exits UN climate change bodies, multiple NGOs

US exits UN climate change bodies, multiple NGOs

US E15 talks continue as funding crunch looms

US E15 talks continue as funding crunch looms

Saudi Arabia targets net GHG cuts of 335mn t/yr by 2040

Saudi Arabia targets net GHG cuts of 335mn t/yr by 2040

Viewpoint: Power demand to bolster RGGI sentiment

Viewpoint: Power demand to bolster RGGI sentiment

Viewpoint: US uses delays against 'green' policies

Viewpoint: US uses delays against 'green' policies

Related Products

Argus Carbon

Argus Carbon

Argus Low Carbon Hydrogen Strategy Report

Argus Low Carbon Hydrogen Strategy Report

Argus Hydrogen and Future Fuels

Argus Low Carbon Hydrogen Strategy Report

Argus LNG Daily

Business intelligence reports