In the White House’s telling, the United States “ officially escaped ” the Paris Agreement on Jan. 27. Washington also says it intends to withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the treaty that undergirds Paris and provides the foundation for global climate diplomacy. It’s not unusual for a country to stand aside as others seek to decarbonize. Iran, for example, has not ratified the Paris Agreement, while Russia is a party to the deal but has weak emissions