What does the US withdrawal mean?
With Donald Trump pulling the US out of the Paris Accord, America has backed away from a coalition of almost 200 nations that are part of the agreement, joining a small club comprising Syria and Nicaragua as countries on the sidelines
Hurts the accord
It is now more difficult for the world to reach the goals set — keeping global temperature rises well under two degrees Celsius, as the US contributes about 15% of global emissions of carbon, while also being a significant source of finance and technology for developing nations
US gets isolated
Trump's move signals America’s diminished moral global leadership, could isolate the country and could "hobble American clout on a suite of unrelated diplomatic issues", according to former US diplomat R Nicholas Burns
Hurt economy
America loses its ability to be a leader in new developments and will lose access to growing markets for renewable energy. The move will also add few jobs to a shrinking fossil fuel industry and slow down the growth of the growing renewable energy market
China jumps in
In the few hours after Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Accord, China has already re-affirmed its commitment to the accord and has already started forging a new alliance with EU towards common climate policies