It is no secret that President Donald Trump is highly skeptical of the theory of man-made climate change, which was a major driver of policies under the prior administration of former President Joe Biden.

Now, in an abrupt reversal from his predecessor, Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from two major global programs focused on climate change that Biden had joined in recent years, The Washington Post reported.

Both of those programs seemingly obligated the U.S. to provide funds to poor developing nations to either mitigate and recover from damage caused by "climate disasters" or to assist in the transition away from so-called "fossil fuels" like coal, oil, and natural gas.

Withdrawal from U.N. loss and damage fund

According to The Guardian, the Biden-Harris administration in 2023 helped create what is known as the loss and damage fund at the United Nation's COP28 climate summit, which involved pledges of economic aid from developed nations to still-developing nations to address the impacts from natural disasters that some believe are linked to climate change.

That fund only became operational at the beginning of this year and the U.S. had only contributed $17.5 million in taxpayer funds thus far, and it appears that will be the final total.

In a recent letter to the fund's leadership, U.S. Office of Climate and Environment Deputy Director Rebecca Lawlor wrote, "On behalf of the United States Department of the Treasury, I write to inform you that the United States is withdrawing from the board for the fund for responding to loss and damage, effective immediately."

Withdrawal from the Just Energy Transition Partnership

Meanwhile, in a separate but related move, The Post reported that the Trump administration has also withdrawn the U.S. from an international agreement known as the Just Energy Transition Partnership, which again involves wealthy developed nations providing financial support for developing nations to transition from so-called "fossil fuels" to purportedly renewable energy sources like solar and wind.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the U.S. helped create the JETP in 2021 and then expanded a year later to provide taxpayer-funded grants and low-interest loans to recipient nations like South Africa, Indonesia, and Vietnam, among others.

It is unclear exactly how much the U.S. contributed to that program, but the head of JETP in South Africa estimated that the U.S. withdrawal would reduce by around $1 billion the total $13.8 billion that had been pledged by donor nations.

Moves are aligned with Trump's "America First" executive order and energy policy

In reaction to both of those reported withdrawals, both The Post and The Guardian shared outraged quotes of opposition to the move from climate activists and officials involved in the two climate change-related programs.

Yet, neither move should come as a surprise, given President Trump's known skepticism toward the climate change theory and his efforts to substantially reduce federal spending by cutting wasteful and fraudulent expenditures that don't align with his policy goals.

Indeed, an unnamed Treasury Department spokesperson told The Post that the withdrawals stemmed from a Day One executive order signed by Trump titled "Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements," though the spokesperson insisted that the U.S. would "continue to engage with partner countries on energy and investment issues of common interest."

"In recent years, the United States has purported to join international agreements and initiatives that do not reflect our country’s values or our contributions to the pursuit of economic and environmental objectives," the order stated. "Moreover, these agreements steer American taxpayer dollars to countries that do not require, or merit, financial assistance in the interests of the American people."

As such, Trump declared, "It is the policy of my Administration to put the interests of the United States and the American people first in the development and negotiation of any international agreements with the potential to damage or stifle the American economy. These agreements must not unduly or unfairly burden the United States."