Pakistan, Jan. 8 -- US President Donald Trump has directed the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organisations, including the foundational climate treaty known as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The decision is part of what the White House described on Wednesday as a broader exit from the United Nations system.

A memorandum from the administration listed the targeted organisations as "contrary to the interests of the United States". US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said further reviews were underway and framed the departures as fulfilment of a campaign pledge to curb spending on international bodies.

The UNFCCC, adopted in 1992 and rat...