Barack Obama on U.S. exit from Paris Climate Agreement: It's on us now

Former U.S. President Barack Obama has a message for everyone—it's on us now.

Obama broke his recent silence on Thursday at almost the exact time Donald Trump announced the U.S. will leave the Paris Climate Agreement.

In a statement, he called on local governments at the state and city levels to stay with the deal.

"I believe the United States of America should be at the front of the pack," Obama said in a written statement. "But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations to 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."

Under the Obama administration, the U.S. entered into the climate agreement in April 2016. The agreement created a near-global plan to limit the emission of greenhouse gases.

Now, the U.S. joins only Syria and Nicaragua as countries not in the agreement (the agreement did not do enough for the Nicaraguan government to sign on).

"A year and a half ago, the world came together in Paris around the first-ever global agreement to set the world on a low-carbon course and protect the world we leave to our children," Obama said in the statement.

He also pointed to broad support in the business community for the agreement, as well as the upside of increased investment in renewable energy technology.

"Simply put, the private sector already chose a low-carbon future," he said.

Obama has maintained a relatively low profile since stepping down from the presidency, talking about political polarization but avoiding discussing Trump by name. His statement on Thursday also notably does not reference Trump directly.

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