The Paris Agreement, a landmark environmental pact, was adopted in 2015 by nearly every nation to address climate change and its negative impacts. The deal aims to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, while pursuing means to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees. The agreement includes commitments from all major emitting countries to cut their climate-altering pollution and to strengthen those commitments over time. The pact provides a pathway for developed nations to assist developing nations in their climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, and it creates a framework for the transparent monitoring, reporting, and ratcheting up of countries’ individual and collective climate goals.
But Donald Trump, the former US President announced on June 1, 2017 that the US would cease all participation in the Paris Protocol 2015 on climate change mitigation, and begin negotiations to re-enter the pact on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers or form a new agreement. In withdrawing from the agreement, Trump stated that “The Paris accord will undermine the US economy,” and puts the US at a permanent disadvantage.” Trump also stated that the withdrawal would be in accordance with his America First policy.
In accordance with Article 28 of the Paris Agreement, a country cannot give notice of withdrawal from the agreement before three years of its start date in the relevant country, which was on November 4, 2016 in the case of the United States. The White House later clarified that the US will abide by the four-year exit process. On November 4, 2019, the Trump administration gave a formal notice of intention to withdraw, which takes 12 months to take effect. Until the withdrawal took effect, the United States was obligated to maintain its commitments under the Agreement, such as the requirement to continue reporting its emissions to the United Nations. The withdrawal took effect on November 4, 2020, one day after the 2020 US presidential election.
Following Trump’s announcement, the governors of several US states formed the United States Climate Alliance to continue to advance the objectives of the Paris Agreement at the state level despite the federal withdrawal. As of July 1, 2019, 24 states, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico have joined the alliance, and similar commitments have also been expressed by other state governors, mayors, and businesses.
Newly elected President Joe Biden vowed to rejoin the Paris Agreement on his first 100 days in office. Joe Biden became the president in the November 2020 election defeating Trump. As part of his transition plan, Biden announced that one of his first actions on his first day in office would be to return the United States to the Paris Agreement. He also stated plans to further the United States’ commitment towards mitigating climate change in line with the Paris Agreement.
The move will come after President Donald Trump formally withdrew the country from the climate change agreement on November 4, 2020 which was the earliest possible date under its terms. Biden said he will bring the US back into the accord as early as February.
While the official US exit from the accord further isolated Washington from the rest of the world, it won’t necessarily have an immediate impact on international efforts to mitigate climate change and implement the framework of the agreement.
However, nearly every country in the world is part of the agreement and of the 195 countries that signed the agreement, 189 countries officially adopted the accord, and no other country besides the US has abandoned it.
Since the US has the biggest economy in the world and has contributed the most to climate change, it is incredibly important that the US return to the Paris agreement. The pact is a nonbinding agreement among nations to reduce emissions and keep the increase in global temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with preindustrial levels.
The US is among the most significant emitters of greenhouse gasses in the world. In terms of both total and per capita emissions, it is among the largest contributors. As of April 2019, 69% of Americans think that climate change is happening and 55% think that it is mostly human caused.
The current effects of global warming in the US are widespread and varied. In 2012, the US experienced its warmest year on record. As of 2012, the thirteen warmest years for the entire planet have all occurred since 1998, transcending those from 1880. Different regions experience widely different climatic changes. Changes in climate in the regions of the US appear as significantly.
The next round of U.N. climate talks is set to take place in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021, when countries are expected to submit new, more ambitious 2030 targets and all eyes will be on the US, what initiative will be taken by the new elected Joe Biden administration as climate change is seen as a national security threat to the United States.
(Mr. Rahaman is a banker and freelance contributor. Email: [email protected]).
