A presidential memorandum yesterday named 31 UN organisations and 35 non-UN organisations which the US government now considers it is “contrary to the interests of the United States to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support to”.

The US will no longer be a party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the main international treaty on climate change, and will no longer participate in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s leading authority on climate science.

It will also withdraw from various organisations with remits relating to democracy, security and the rule of law.

These include the International Law Commission (ILC), the UN body whose achievements include the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose judges and staff have faced US sanctions.

Climate scientists and environmental groups have led criticism of the US decision.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said the US is set to become the only nation in the world which is not a party to the UNFCCC due to its “authoritarian, anti-science administration”.

Amanda Leland, executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), said: “For over 30 years, the US has followed the scientific evidence and worked alongside other countries to find a path to addressing our changing climate while ensuring economic prosperity and human health.

“To be the first major economy to abandon this effort would set American families and businesses back in the global energy transition — leaving them to breathe dirtier air, face worse health outcomes, pay higher energy bills, and miss out on the economic gains that come with leading the shift to a clean energy future.”