Thesis (MA) - Cyprus International University. Institute of Graduate Studies and Research International Relations Department

Includes bibliography (sheets 55-61)

ABSTRACT
This thesis focuses on the interaction between domestic and international politics on
climate change policies by analyzing the causes and consequences of U.S President
Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. As the world's second-largest
GHGs and CO2 emitter, America is the case study used to evaluate an incumbent
president's influence on climate change policies based on his political party's views on
climate change. The evidence from President Donald Trump's decision displays a pattern
in agreement with the laidback approach of the Republican Party on environmental issues,
and this thesis maintains that such domestic political bases affect the progress made with
environmental challenges on a global scale.
While some environmentalists have blamed President Donald Trump's skepticism on
climate change as the reason for his withdrawal, this thesis contends that it goes beyond
the personal and it is more about the political, evidenced through the causes it presents.
The Republican unilateral approach to governance adopted by President Donald Trump
paved the way for his decision, and his aggressive reversal of Democrat President Obama's
climate change policies offers proof that to President Donald Trump, the domestic was
more important than the international. Fossil fuel lobbyists also influenced Republican
senators to support the withdrawal even as Trump's protectionist MAGA agenda, which
imitates Republican conservatism, prompted him to fulfill his campaign promises to the
American fossil-fuel industry.
These causes on a national level have a ripple effect on the global stage as America failed
to fulfill its pledge of reducing GHG emissions by 26-28% from 2015 to 2025. Before the
Trump Presidency, America collaborated with other prominent actors such as China and
the E.U to solve the global warming challenge, and a consequence of this withdrawal is
the collapse of such collective leadership as although these big players renewed their
commitment to the Paris agreement, they could not fill America's role in the area of
climate finance. President Donald Trump stopped payments to the Green Climate Fund,
which provides financial aid for developing countries to meet their emission targets: this
represents a broader consequence of domestic politics on a transnational problem.
This study concludes that although the causes of President Donald Trump's withdrawal
are mainly due to domestic political factors, it created negative consequences on
international efforts in combatting global climate challenges.