The Leader of the Green Party of Canada says U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that he can withdraw the United States from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is unconstitutional.
“It is one thing for an executive to exit a voluntary multilateral organization; it is quite another to withdraw from an international treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada and former practising environmental lawyer who participated in early negotiations to establish the UNFCCC.
Under the U.S. Constitution, a president does not have the authority to withdraw from multilateral treaties without ratification by a supermajority of the U.S. Senate. The UNFCCC was ratified by the Senate at the request of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush.
At a minimum, other parties to the UNFCCC — including Canada — should raise serious questions about whether Trump’s most recent action is legal. At this point, every nation state on the planet is a party to the UNFCCC. There is intense debate in the United States about how far Trump can ignore the country’s Constitution. Declaring war is another action that similarly requires a three-quarters Senate vote. As the foundational global legal framework on climate change, any U.S. withdrawal from the UNFCCC must meet both U.S. constitutional requirements and international legal standards.
The Green Party of Canada urges the Canadian government to be clear and firm in demanding a legal analysis before accepting this latest action by U.S. President Donald Trump as lawful.
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For media inquiries or to arrange an interview:
media@greenparty.ca