Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that the Paris Agreement will continue without the United States.
Addressing the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on his last visit to the US as Taoiseach, Mr Kenny said the agreement was "not removable", "neither for the planet nor for those who call it home".
He said that Ireland was "signed up to the Paris agreement and would continue to remain part of the Paris agreement".
He said the decision that US President Donald Trump had taken to withdraw from the landmark accord was "disappointing to put it lightly", saying that you couldn't "ignore the accuracy of scientific facts".
He said that "from a European perspective there's an even stronger resolution now that Europe has signed an accord with China".
The Taoiseach said the scientific facts "speak for themselves".
Addressing the business breakfast in downtown Chicago, he joked that he had been to the U2 concert in Soldier Field the night before and that his favourite song was "I still haven't found what I'm looking for".
He said he was in his final few days as Taoiseach and that he was "happy to pass on the responsibility to the next generation".
Meanwhile, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg submitted a statement to the United Nations today that over 1,000 US governors, mayors, businesses, universities and others will continue to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement abandoned by Mr Trump.
Mr Bloomberg, who is the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for Cities and Climate Change, submitted the "We Are Still In" declaration to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa.
He also launched a process to work with local governments and non-state entities to formally quantify the combined, and overlapping, emissions reduction pledges, which will be known as "America's Pledge," and submit the report to the United Nations.
"Today, on behalf of an unprecedented collection of US cities, states, businesses and other organizations, I am communicating to the United Nations and the global community that American society remains committed to achieving the emission reductions we pledged to make in Paris in 2015," Mr Bloomberg said in a statement.
Signatories to the new initiative include 13 governors, 19 state attorneys general, over 200 mayors, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.
Mr Trump on Thursday pulled the United States from the landmark 2015 agreement designed to fight climate change, fulfilling a major campaign pledge despite entreaties from US allies and corporate leaders.
Although the formal process to withdraw from the Paris agreement takes four years, Mr Trump said the United States will not honour the pledge the Obama administration submitted, known as the nationally determined contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26-28% below 2005 levels by the year 2025.
To fill the void, "America's Pledge" will be submitted to the UNFCCC as a "Societal NDC".
"The UNFCCC welcomes the determination and commitment from such a wealth and array of cities, states, businesses and other groups in the United States to fastforward climate action and emissions reductions in support of the Paris Climate Change Agreement," said Ms Espinosa.
The coalition will align a number of different efforts to show US support for the Paris agreement, including a commitment of over 260 corporations including Kellogg, Pepsi Co. and Walmart to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the latest science.
Thirteen governors have also pledged to continue to honour the Paris pledges.
"It will be up to the American people to step forward-and in Virginia we are doing just that," said Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.
