What did Trump mean by his flurry of executive orders?
Implications of a Trump-U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization: How does the US respond to outbreaks? Commentary on Gostin
As expected, Trump also signed an order to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization, a UN agency that is responsible for global health. He said that the US pays a disproportionate amount of dues to the agency compared with other nations.
According to a 1948 joint resolution passed by both houses of Congress, any such withdrawal requires the US to provide the WHO with one year’s notice, but it appears that Trump’s intentions are to withdraw immediately and do so without seeking Congressional approval.
Drawing from WHO makes us vulnerable and more alone, says Gostin. “You can’t shut down a border against a pathogen. They need to be on the ground to put out the fires before they get to the US. WHO has a huge network that can give us important information about the genetic makeup of diseases that we need to develop life- saving vaccines and treatments.
However, Gostin and others are particularly concerned about the impacts of a US withdrawal on the country’s ability to manage the ongoing threat of infectious diseases. While the WHO has a far-reaching remit, ranging from advice on essential medicines to public policy recommendations on everything from tobacco and drug use to road safety, it is arguably most impactful when it comes to the surveillance of potentially problematic new diseases, such as bird flu, and coordinating an international response.
Can the exit of the United States from the Paris agreement in 2016 mark the US’s first presidential term? An Earth-system scientist says there are limits to what Trump can accomplish
It remains unclear how much weight many of the orders will carry, but policy specialists who spoke to Nature say that they clearly mark the direction Trump intends to steer the United States during his second term in the White House.
If the United States withdrew from the Paris accord, it would be easy for the world to go back to warming up to pre-industrial levels. During the first year of Trump’s presidency, the administration waited more than three years to pull out of the agreement because of its rules. The man who became US president, Joe Biden, quickly came back. This time, the exit process will require only one year.
The president said his emergency order would allow US agencies to identify energy projects where federal regulations and laws are holding up progress. Agencies would be authorized to move quicker to approve projects through use of “any lawful emergency authorities”.
Mark Maslin, an Earth-system scientist at University College London says there are limits to what Trump can accomplish. Investments in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar will continue despite the fact that it is cheaper to do so now.
Many scholars worry that the exit of the United States from the Paris agreement will lead to less pressure on other countries to act, since the United States is the world’s second largest greenhouse gases emitter. Scientists say that countries need to increase their efforts to curb emissions if they want to achieve a global goal after Earth reached a record temperature last year.
