The Trump administration in the United States has laid off federal employees responsible for US global climate policy and climate assistance. This is part of the country's "reorganization of diplomatic focus," the US State Department said on Friday, according to Reuters. According to the news agency, the Office of Global Change, which was part of the State Department, played a central role in the US's annual climate negotiations.
The layoffs come as part of US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. In January, Trump signed a presidential decree officially withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement. The aim of the agreement is to combat climate change by keeping the average global temperature rise below two degrees.
Recently, a majority of the members of the IMO, the UN's maritime organization, adopted an agreement that aims to make international shipping CO2-neutral by 2050. The United States was not included in this either when Trump withdrew the country from the agreement.
After the layoffs, it is unclear how or whether the United States will continue to participate in international climate agreements. Or whether the functions of the office will be transferred to other parts of the state apparatus. A State Department spokesman told Reuters that the office has supported efforts to "slow down" the United States through participation in climate agreements, which is "unnecessary."
It is not the only government agency in the United States where changes are underway. The Office of Energy Resources has in recent years focused on developing critical minerals and alternatives to oil and gas, as well as weaning countries off Russian fossil fuels.
But internal documents reviewed by Reuters show that the office is now to be merged with the Office of Economic and Business Affairs. This is done "to ensure a focus on expanding and exporting American energy", it says.
With the motto "drill baby, drill", Donald Trump has promised to dig deep into the American subsoil and extract a record amount of oil and gas.
- We will bring down prices, fill our strategic reserves again - all the way to the top - and export American energy to the whole world, the president has said.
jel /ritzau/Reuters
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