Summary The Paris Agreement (PA) to address climate change internationally entered into force on November 4, 2016.
On June 1, 2017, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to withdraw the United States from the agreement and that his Administration would seek to reopen negotiations on the PA or on a new “transaction.” Following the provisions of the PA, U.S. withdrawal could take effect as early as November 2020.
The United States is the second largest emitter of GHG globally after China.
The PA is subsidiary to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which the United States ratified in 1992 with the advice and consent of the Senate and which entered into force in 1994.
The PA requires that nations submit pledges to abate their GHG emissions, set goals to adapt to climate change, and cooperate toward these ends, including mobilization of financial and other support.
 Accountability framework.
The PA also requires “as appropriate” that Parties prepare and communicate their plans to adapt to climate change.
The PA reiterates the collective obligation in the UNFCCC for developed country Parties to provide financial resources—public and private—to assist developing country Parties with mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Additionally, numerous issues may attract congressional oversight, such as:  foreign policy, technological, and economic implications of withdrawal;  possible objectives and provisions of renegotiation of the PA or of a new “transaction” for cooperation internationally; Questions Abut Next Steps for the United States President Trump’s announcement on June 1, 2017, of his intent to withdraw the United States from the PA raises several issues regarding next steps under the PA,106 including:  What procedure might the United States follow to withdraw from the PA?107  Might the United States request that the PA Parties allow it an early exit from the agreement, following customary international law, rather than the four-year withdrawal process under PA Article 28?
 Will the United States continue to participate in meetings and decisions of the PA until withdrawal occurs, pursuant to the President’s statement that “as of today, the United States will cease all implementation of the non-binding Paris Accord….