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US tells UN it is bidding adieu to Paris climate deal

Posted at 2:08 PM, Nov 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-04 16:08:28-05

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has told the United Nations it has begun the process of pulling out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that he submitted a formal notice to the United Nations. That starts a withdrawal process that does not become official for one year.

Pompeo's statement touted America's carbon pollution cuts and called the Paris deal an "unfair economic burden" to the U.S. economy.

Nearly 200 nations signed the climate deal in which each country provides its own goals to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases that lead to climate change.

The U.S. is the first nation to pull out of the deal. Agreement rules prevented a country from pulling out in the first three years after the Nov. 4, 2016, ratification.