Argentina may abandon the Paris agreement and follow in the footsteps of the USA

Criticizing the environmental movement, Milei signals Argentina’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement, putting global goals of limiting warming to 1.5°C at risk

Javier Milei’s government is evaluating a proposal for Argentina to abandon the Paris Agreement, just days after Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the main global treaty on climate change.

According to the Financial Times, although a final decision has not yet been made, two people familiar with the discussions said Argentina would likely follow in the US’s footsteps, a decision that would make it the second country to leave the agreement signed by nearly 200 nations.

Senior officials are studying an internal memo recommending his departure, according to people familiar with the matter. The measure comes after the country withdrew negotiators from the COP29 climate summit last year and stated that it is reassessing its international commitments related to the environment.

Public officials are trying to dissuade Milei’s team from abandoning the deal, the sources said. An Argentine diplomat said that Milei will make the final decision and that “it seems very likely that we will end up leaving.”

An exit, if confirmed, would represent a major blow to global efforts to combat climate change. The Paris Agreement aims to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C and ideally 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The environmental division of Argentina’s Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The libertarian leader, who denies that humans are a cause of climate change, condemned the global environmental movement in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.

“Wokeism has perverted the basic idea of ​​preserving the environment for the enjoyment of human beings and transformed it into fanatical environmentalism, where humans are seen as a cancer that must be eliminated, and economic development is treated as a crime against society. nature,” he said.

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement for the second time, after already leaving the agreement during his first term. No other country has abandoned the 2015 treaty.

Leaving the Paris Agreement would require Congressional approval in Argentina, but Milei has frequently bypassed the Legislature through emergency decrees since assuming the presidency.

Last year was the hottest on record, and scientists warn that the world is increasingly far from reaching the temperature targets established in the agreement.

Potential impacts of exit

A withdrawal could affect the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur, concluded in December between Europe, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, which provides for the suspension of the trade agreement if one of the signatory parties leaves the Paris Agreement.

One diplomat said: “The ministry’s technical team is trying to explain that although Trump can do whatever he wants, for Argentina this would have consequences.”

They also cited possible complications for Argentina’s recent bid to join the OECD, an organization that advocates environmental policy standards for its members.

Critics argue that Argentina would also risk losing access to climate-linked international financing flows after receiving billions in climate-related funding, and could be excluded from global carbon markets in the future.

Countries are due to submit updated climate plans next month as mandated by the Paris Agreement, although many are expected to miss the deadline.