--- title: UN Climate Change Head Wants Trump Back in Paris Agreement description: The head of the UN body charged with addressing global warming wants to work with Trump to bring the U.S. back into the Paris Agreement canonical: https://time.com/5195459/climate-change-trump-paris-agreement-patricia-espinosa/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-12T17:31:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:37:00.385Z article:section: Politics og:title: U.N. Climate Change Head Wants Donald Trump Back in the Paris Agreement og:description: "There can be a reconsideration." og:url: https://time.com/5195459/climate-change-trump-paris-agreement-patricia-espinosa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fb31089161ae84e/69892a8497cdff17276b4a13/patricia-espinosa-unfccc-climate-change-donald-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4250 og:image:height: 2391 og:image:alt: patricia espinosa unfccc climate change donald trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.N. Climate Change Head Wants Donald Trump Back in the Paris Agreement twitter:description: "There can be a reconsideration." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fb31089161ae84e/69892a8497cdff17276b4a13/patricia-espinosa-unfccc-climate-change-donald-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # United Nations Climate Change Head Wants Donald Trump Back in the Paris Agreement > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland / Houston](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland / Houston Senior Correspondent Mar 12, 2018 5:31 PM UTC  Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), speaks during a press conference ahead of the COP22 meeting in Marrakesh in 2016. Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), speaks during a press conference ahead of the COP22 meeting in Marrakesh in 2016.Fadel Senn—AFP/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland / Houston](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland / Houston Senior Correspondent Mar 12, 2018 5:31 PM UTC The head of the United Nations body charged with addressing global warming wants to work with the Trump administration to bring the U.S. back into the [Paris Agreement](http://time.com/4146764/paris-agreement-climate-cop-21/) on climate change, she told TIME last week at an energy conference in Houston. Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said that she remains “hopeful” that Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Agreement can be reversed before it becomes official in 2020. “We are more than happy to engage with the U.S. administration in order to address their concerns,” Espinosa told TIME on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference hosted by IHS Markit. “There can be a reconsideration of this decision.” Trump [said last June](http://time.com/4801134/paris-agreement-withdrawal-donald-trump-rose-garden/) that he would withdraw the U.S. from the landmark climate deal, calling it a drain on the American economy, but his decision cannot be made official until 2020 thanks to a waiting period on withdrawal included in the agreement. At the helm of the UNFCCC, Espinosa oversees ongoing negotiations to implement the Paris Agreement and other international talks on global warming. She said that the details of those negotiations, which include development of detailed rules on how countries commit to and report on greenhouse gas emissions cuts, could help sway the Trump Administration to rejoin the Paris Agreement. George David Banks, a former Trump energy advisor, [told TIME last month](http://time.com/5171805/paris-agreement-united-states-david-banks/) that Trump has been telling foreign leaders that the U.S. might rejoin the Paris Agreement. Banks suggested the Trump might want to use re-engaging on the Paris Agreement as a talking point ahead of the 2020 election. Trump’s position on climate change is far from the only issue on Espinosa’s plate. The former Mexican foreign minister acknowledged to TIME that countries’ current commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions remain behind the target set in the Paris Agreement but said that the “path is there” to achieve the goals. The deal calls for countries to limit temperatures from rising more than 2°C (3.6°F) by 2100 with an ideal target of keeping temperature rise below 1.5°C (2.7°F). “We are far from the 1.5 degrees if we look at the commitments that have been put on the table,” she said. But “there is a lot happening, a lot more than anticipated.” Espinosa, who took her current position in 2016, less than a year after countries reached the Paris deal, stood out from other high-profile attendees at CERAWeek, a conference largely dominated by oil and gas industry executives. Until recently, the industry has by-and-large opposed measures to address climate change. But Espinosa stressed that working with the energy sector would pay dividends. “Without participation of the energy sector in the transformation that we need to have to address climate change we will not be able to get to the goals set in the Paris Agreement,” she said. “We need to engage with all the actors that have an impact in achieving those goals.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5195459/climate-change-trump-paris-agreement-patricia-espinosa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5195459/climate-change-trump-paris-agreement-patricia-espinosa/"},"headline":"United Nations Climate Change Head Wants Donald Trump Back in the Paris Agreement","datePublished":"2018-03-12T17:31:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:37:00.385Z","description":"The head of the UN body charged with addressing global warming wants to work with Trump to bring the U.S. back into the Paris Agreement","url":"https://time.com/5195459/climate-change-trump-paris-agreement-patricia-espinosa/","keywords":["climate change","global warming","United Nations","U.N.","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fb31089161ae84e/69892a8497cdff17276b4a13/patricia-espinosa-unfccc-climate-change-donald-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland / Houston"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fb31089161ae84e/69892a8497cdff17276b4a13/patricia-espinosa-unfccc-climate-change-donald-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"patricia espinosa unfccc climate change donald trump","caption":"Fadel Senn","creditText":"Fadel Senn—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5195459/climate-change-trump-paris-agreement-patricia-espinosa/","name":"United Nations Climate Change Head Wants Donald Trump Back in the Paris Agreement"}}]}] ```