In a presidential memorandum issued on Wednesday evening, Trump said the US would withdraw from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and 65 additional UN and other multilateral groups, mostly linked to the environment, renewable energy, development, education, and the promotion of democracy and human rights.

They include the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the global body of climate scientists, the International Trade Centre, the UN Population Fund, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who worked as Joe Biden’s presidential envoy for climate, said the withdrawal from the climate treaty was “par for the course” for the Trump administration.

“But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a gift to China and a get-out-of-jail-free card to countries and polluters who want to avoid responsibility.”