The agreement – which was negotiated by former President Barack Obama two years ago – was a focus of Trump’s campaign

Barack Obama Rues That U.S. Is No Longer Leader on Climate Change as President Trump Pulls Out of Paris Accord

Former President Barack Obama is speaking out against President Donald Trump‘s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.

In a carefully measured statement released moments after Trump announced the news from the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, Obama praised the deal he helped negotiate as president two years ago and expressed his confidence in American cities, states and businesses to continue leading the way in the global issue in spite of Trump’s decision.

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“I believe the Unites States of America should be at the front of the pack,” Obama said in a statement released by his office. “But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got.”

After much speculation, President Trump announced that he was withdrawing the U.S. fromthe Paris Climate Agreement, a joint effort among nearly 200 nations to combat global warming.

Condemning the accord as “an agreement that disadvantages the United States” to the benefit of other countries, Trump declared: “The United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.”

The agreement was a focus of Trump’s campaign, with the longtime businessman arguing that it was a burden on U.S. consumers and energy producers.

Some from Obama’s administration were far more direct. Matthew Miller, an official in the Obama-era Justice Department wrote on Twitter that listening to Trump on Thursday was like listening to Venezuela’s polarizing and international pariah of a former president, the late Hugo Chavez.

Many other big names turned to Twitter to express concern over abandoning the agreement.

The president himself tweeted on Wednesday, “I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Leaders around the world had been lobbying for America to retain its place in the accord, with Pope Francis putting pressure on Trump during the president’s visit to Vatican City last week.