The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement is a huge foreign policy mistake, and a self-inflicted wound. It will reverberate through all the relationships with other US allies. For Latin American countries Trump’s move sounded like he had already built a big wall, but one just in front of his nose and completely blocking his sight. Shortly after the announcement, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto tweeted that his country was still fully committed to the Paris climate treaty. Later Mexico’s foreign and environmental ministries issued a joint statement, saying climate change is an “incontrovertible” fact that requires cooperation from all nations. “Actions to put the brakes on climate change are a moral imperative,” the statement said. The Colombian government also joined the global outcry: “The Paris Agreement is one of the greatest achievements of multilateralism in recent years. For the first time, a universal and not legally binding agreement has been reached that allows for united efforts to solve the challenges associated with climate change, so we regret this decision” said the Environment and Sustainable Development Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo. Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz expressed “deep concern and deep disappointment… Many of our countries are vulnerable to climate change and what we can say is that we maintain our multilateral commitment to this agreement in Paris, because on it hinges the fate of future generations.” It is becoming clear that by abdicating its responsibility in climate change mitigation and the coming clean energy transition the USA has made other international negotiations more challenging, particularly on trade. It was also a business mistake; the decision means the U.S. will miss out on some the $1.4 trillion global business opportunity that the global low-carbon economy represents. That the limited binding force of the agreement is zero makes the whole drama unnecessary and therefore Trump appears even more anticlimactic.
