Paris deal: a year after Trump announced US exit, a coalition fights to fill the gap

Cities, states and companies are taking their own steps on behalf of the planet. But their power to minimize Trump’s damage is limited

Donald Trump barely had time to leave a sun-drenched Rose Garden after announcing the US exit from the historic Paris climate change agreement before the backlash began.

The voluntary deal, aimed at curbing global temperature rise to under 2C, was “draconian” and would cause a “very diminished quality of life” for Americans, Trump said on 1 June last year. “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” the president added.

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