The US state department on Friday has officially delivered notice to the UN of its intentions to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate pact.
The department said in the statement: "Today, the US submitted a communication to the United Nations… regarding the US intent to withdraw from the Paris agreement as soon as it is eligible to do so."
Yet, the announcement did not indicate when the process will start.
CGTN Photo
Nevertheless, according to the statement, US will continue to cut down greenhouse emissions and help other nations to use fossil fuels with technology.
President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris deal in June, saying the accord would have cost America trillions of dollars, killed jobs, and hindered the oil, gas, coal and manufacturing industries.
International society widely criticized the US decision saying it would hinder global efforts to slow down climate change.
Supporters of US president Donald Trump and his policies demonstrate during a "Pittsburgh Not Paris" rally in support of his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Accord, in Lafayette Square next to the White House in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2017. /AFP Photo
But in the notice to the UN, the US state department said Washington would remain in the talks and negotiation process on climate change deals.
Trump is "open to re-engaging in the Paris Agreement if the United States can identify terms that are more favorable to it, its business, its workers, its people and its taxpayers," the department said.
The earliest date for the United States to completely withdraw from the agreement is Nov. 4, 2020, around the time of the next US presidential election.
