Javier Milei’s eyes left the Paris climate agreement

Open the editor’s digest for free

FT editor Rula Khalaf picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Just days after Donald Trump announced the United States would pull out of a key climate change accord, Javier Mille’s government is reviewing a proposal to pull Argentina out of the Paris accord.

While a final decision has yet to be made, two people familiar with the talks said Argentina could follow the U.S. lead, a move that would make it the second country to withdraw from the accord, signed by nearly 200 countries.

After the country pulled negotiators from last year’s COP29 climate summit and said it was reassessing its international commitments on environmental protection, senior officials were studying an internal memo suggesting a withdrawal, the public said.

Civil service workers were trying to dissuade Miley’s team from reneging on the deal, the people said. An Argentinian diplomat said that Miley will make the final decision and “it seems that we are lucky to go”.

If the deal is agreed, it would represent a major setback for global efforts to tackle climate change. The agreement is to keep global temperatures well below 2C and ideally well below 1.5C.

Argentina’s interior ministry’s environment division did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The liberal leader, who denies human-caused climate change, condemned the global environmental movement in a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.

“Wokeism has twisted the fundamental idea of ​​preserving the environment for human comfort into radical environmentalism where humanity is a cancer to be eradicated, and economic development is little more than a crime against nature,” he said. he said.

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement for a second time. No other country has withdrawn from the 2015 accord.

Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement would require congressional approval in Argentina, but Milley overrode Congress through a state of emergency issued during his presidency.

Last year was the hottest on record, scientists say the world is on track to meet the temperature set by the agreement.

Withdrawal could affect the EU-Mercosur trade deal concluded in December between Europe and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, which states that the parties can suspend the trade deal if one of the signatories leaves the Paris accord.

“Technical staff in the ministry are trying to explain that Trump can do whatever he wants, but there will be consequences for Argentina,” a diplomat said.

They also cited potential problems for Argentina’s recent bid to join the OECD, which supports environmental policy standards for members.

Critics have argued that Argentina is at risk of losing billions in international climate finance, and could be excluded from international carbon markets in the future.

Countries are set to submit revised climate plans at the Paris accord next month, although many are expected to miss the deadline.