Trump pulls US from 66 organisations, including UN climate pact
Trump says the US will quit 66 international bodies, including the UN climate convention and UN Women, arguing they conflict with US national interests.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 that the United States will withdraw from more than 60 international organisations and UN entities, arguing they “operate contrary to US national interests”, according to a White House memo outlining the move.
The memo lists 66 bodies in total—35 outside the UN system and 31 UN-affiliated entities—that Washington plans to exit, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), widely seen as the foundation of global climate cooperation and the umbrella framework for the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The United States did not send officials to last year’s annual UN climate summit—reported as the first time in more than three decades it was not officially represented—adding to concerns among climate diplomats about Washington’s retreat from the process.
Manish Bapna, president and chief executive of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), warned that a US withdrawal from the UNFCCC would make it the first country to leave the treaty, arguing that membership gives nations a seat at the table to shape major global economic decisions linked to climate policy.
The White House memo also includes planned exits from UN Women, which focuses on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which supports family planning and maternal and child health programmes in more than 150 countries. The administration has already cut funding to UNFPA, according to reports.
The memo says withdrawing from UN agencies means ending US participation and financial contributions to the extent permitted by law. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres did not immediately comment, Reuters reported.
The move underscores Trump’s long-standing scepticism of multilateral institutions—particularly the UN—often criticising their effectiveness, costs and value to US interests. Since starting his second term, the administration has also moved to reduce US involvement in several international forums, including steps affecting the UN Human Rights Council, UNRWA, UNESCO, the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement.
Other bodies named include the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Energy Forum, the UN Register of Conventional Arms and the UN Peacebuilding Commission. The White House said the review is intended to stop spending taxpayer money on organisations it claims promote “radical” climate policies, global governance and ideological programmes that undermine US sovereignty and economic strength.
