US withdraws from multiple global research and technology organisations

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order withdrawing the country from dozens of international bodies, including a number that focus on research and technology. 

Although there are questions over whether Trump has the power to leave such bodies without Congressional backing, the move marks a further retreat by the country from global science, particularly on environmental issues. 

Last month, the EU’s outgoing chief science diplomat said Washington was “demolishing its scientific leadership with a wrecking ball.”

Many of the withdrawals are from climate and renewable energy bodies, which tallies with broader US policy. 

With the US having fallen behind China and in some cases Europe in the manufacture of solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles, Trump is doubling down on an attempt to exert “energy dominance” through the export of oil and gas, last week effectively taking over Venezuela’s oil fields by seizing the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

Some of the withdrawals also hint at the US’s weakening security alliance with Europe. For example, Trump is pulling the US out of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, which counters Chinese and Russian hybrid warfare. 

The logic behind other withdrawals, for example from a research alliance on roads with Europe, or a history and geography union for the Americas, is unclear. 

Here, Science|Business summarises some of the most relevant US exits for science and technology policy: 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

US cutbacks had already made it much more difficult for US scientists to contribute their expertise to the IPCC, the global body which issues definitive reports on the state of climate change. But this week’s decision by Trump to fully withdraw from the panel marks a new step in the US’s retreat from climate science.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

The IUCN does for biodiversity and nature conservation what the IPCC does for climate. Working with extensive independent scientific commissions, it compiles data, publishes research and establishes standards such as red lists of threatened species and at-risk ecosystems.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

The ISA was set up in 2015 by India and France, and now has more than 100 members. Its goal is to unlock $1 trillion in investment into solar energy by 2030. It publishes reports on themes such as floating solar panels, and runs projects to try to scale up solar mini-grids in countries with weaker electricity networks. 

International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA)

Composed of 170 countries plus the EU, the IREA acts as a kind of coordination body for cooperation of renewable energy, and says it provides state-of-the-art data and analyses on technology, innovation, policy, finance and investment. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi with a technology centre in Bonn, it was founded in 2009. Responding to the US decision to withdraw, IREA director general Francesco La Camera said that “renewables are not only a climate solution. Renewable energy is smart economics and will be the decisive factor in the competitiveness of economies.”

Science and Technology Center in Ukraine

Established in 1993, this is a post-Cold War body set up to prevent the proliferation of expertise in weapons of mass destruction. Original funders include the EU, US and Canada. According to the centre’s LinkedIn page, it organises training to prepare for biological, chemical and nuclear attacks in countries including Moldova, Albania, Armenia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. 

European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats

Established in Helsinki in 2017, this centre conducts research into how some states, particularly Russia and China, use a combination of military and non-military means to get their way. It has issued reports on themes ranging from Chinese space technologies to Russia’s Wagner Group. The US was a founding member. Other members include EU states, plus Canada, Norway, Türkiye and the UK. 

Pan American Institute of Geography and History

Nearly a century old, this institute describes its mission as encouraging, coordinating and distributing studies in cartography, geography, history and geophysics across the Americas. It publishes various journals on cartography, history, anthropology and archaeology. 

Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories

This is a group of around 30 large European countries which, since 1989, have collaborated to share research around roads. 

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research

A body focused largely on environmental research that feeds into science diplomacy. The institute has recently organised events on topics ranging from solar radiation management to ocean health. It includes 19 countries across the Americas, including the US. 

UN University

Headquartered in Japan and running since 1975, the United Nations University comprises 13 institutes across 12 countries. These are think tanks and research hubs for topics such as global health, biotechnology, and communications technologies. Its scholars publish several hundred academic papers a year, and the university also offers master’s, doctoral, and non-degree qualifications. 

In addition, the US is pulling out of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; the International Energy Forum; and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies.