On Thursday afternoon President Trump announced his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, sparking a variety of defiant responses both domestically and internationally.

Just before Trump’s announcement, former President Obama released a statement saying that the White House had chosen to join “a small handful of nations that reject the future.”

Obama warned that the countries remaining in the agreement will “reap the benefits in jobs and industries created,” predicting that states, cities, and businesses will now “step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got.”

Not long after, an association of 187 U.S. mayors that call themselves ‘climate mayors’ released a statement pledging to “adopt, honor, and uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement.” Together, the mayors represent roughly 52 million Americans.

Also on Thursday, the governors of California, Washington, and New York announced their intention to form a new climate alliance intended to make sure their states still meet the goals of the Paris agreement.

The three founding members of the “United States Climate Alliance” together make up about a fifth of the U.S. population/GDP and produce about 11 percent of U.S. emissions.

While the decision to pull out was largely seen as a major symbolic victory for the President’s base, the U.S. will now become only the third country not to participate in the agreement, joining Nicaragua, who felt it didn’t go far enough, and Syria, where there were slightly more pressing concerns.

The move by the U.S. to withdraw from the only current attempt at international cooperation to reduce global emissions has also led other signatories of the Paris Agreement to step forward, eager to fill a perceived gap in American leadership.

Several hours before Trump announced his decision to withdraw, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in which the two leaders reaffirmed their joint commitment to combating climate change. “China will stand by its responsibilities on climate change,” Li told reporters.

“We are living in times of global uncertainty and see our responsibility to expand our partnership in all the different areas and to push for a world order based on law,” Merkel said.

France’s newly elected President Emmanuel Macron released a strongly worded response, co-opting some of President Trump’s own rhetoric.

“Make the Planet Great Again!” he pleaded in English, inviting scientists and researchers from the U.S. to work in France’s “ecological transition sector” fighting climate change.

“Tonight the United States has turned its back on the world, but France will not turn its back on Americans,” Macron said.

As world leaders hit back at Trump’s decision with swift uniformity, many have begun to speculate on whether the United States is still “the indispensable nation,” as a new precedent is set for international cooperation without our participation.