PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP (Gage Simon photo).

The United States will withdraw from the historic Paris climate accord, President Donald Trump announced on Friday. “This agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States,” he said in explaining why he wanted the U.S. to pull out of the agreement, which is intended to combat climate change.

He left open the possibility of re-entering the agreement or negotiating a new compact on what he would consider better terms for American industry. “If we can, great. If we can’t, that’s fine,” he said.

Trump’s decision drew criticism from other world leaders, environmentalists and some U.S. political figures.

“Generations from now, Americans will look back at Donald Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Agreement as one of the most ignorant and dangerous actions ever taken by any President,” Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune commented.