The order of President Donald Trump to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement — the global pact to combat climate change — is a major setback but should push countries like the Philippines to strengthen alliances with committed climate partners, experts said.

On his first day of office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order for the world’s top historic emitter of greenhouse gases to exit the agreement. The accord aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent the most catastrophic climate impacts.

The move, marking the U.S.’s second withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, drew widespread criticism from scientists, environmentalists, and government officials. They called it a blow to global climate efforts, especially following the Earth’s hottest year on record and as climate disasters—such as back-to-back typhoons in the Philippines and devastating wildfires in California—become more severe.

“Of course, the pullout of the US will be a big loss because they’re a source of funding, a source of technology. They’re also emitters,” said Agnes De Jesus, chief sustainability officer of the First Philippine Holdings Corporation, a conglomerate engaged in renewable energy. 

The Philippines, one of the most climate-vulnerable nations, has long partnered with the U.S. on climate initiatives, benefiting from financial and technical support. De Jesus emphasized that the U.S. withdrawal should serve as a catalyst for the Philippines to boost self-reliance and encourage private sector investment in green markets.

While the U.S. exit will have significant repercussions for global climate initiatives, the continued commitment of other countries and subnational actors within the U.S. provides hope for advancing climate goals, said Arnold Grant Belver, senior science research specialist at the Climate Change Commission.

“So it’s a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity for us to review our efforts and to negotiate smarter with other countries which we can consider as allies in our climate actions,” Belver said. 

Albert Magalang, head of the environment department’s Climate Change Office, also noted that while the withdrawal affects global emissions mitigation, other major emitting countries remain committed.

“There are a lot of committed countries, big emitters, who will maintain their commitments. So yes, we’ve been at the negotiating table, we’ve been used to having this kind of setup wherein some parties would come and go and then return,” said Magalang, a veteran negotiator at United Nations climate talks. 

The U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement will take effect in a year, leaving it alongside Iran, Libya, and Yemen as the only nations outside the accord. Trump had previously moved to exit the agreement during his first term in 2017.

In addition to the Paris withdrawal, Trump signed executive orders declaring a national energy emergency, blocking offshore wind farm leases in federal waters, and rescinding environmental justice directives that protected communities overburdened by pollution.