(CNN) President Donald Trump on Thursday announced his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, eliciting rebuke from many world leaders who accused the United States of turning its back on the planet and, by extension, humanity.

The agreement -- an ambitious plan to combat, control and adapt to climate change -- is largely viewed as a last-ditch effort to shield Earth from the devastating effects of global warming. The accord was signed during a 2015 conference in the French capital and ratified by the United States one year later.

With the exception of war-torn Syria and Nicaragua, which insists the agreement isn't tough enough, every country in the world has signed on to its provisions.

However, Trump on Thursday opted out of the accord , saying: "We're getting out. And we will start to renegotiate and we'll see if there's a better deal. If we can, great. If we can't, that's fine."

The leaders of Germany, France and Italy responded by expressing their disappointment and asserting that the accord could not be renegotiated. Others slammed Trump for what they characterized as reckless abandonment.

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