WASHINGTON DC: Hours after Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America, he signed an executive order to rejoin the historic Paris Climate Accord, thus displaying his urgency to deal with the climate crisis. The USA had formally withdrawn from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in November 2020, under the administration of Donald Trump.
The Paris accord committed 188 countries, including the US, to keep the rising global temperatures below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and attempt to limit them even more, to a 1.5 degree Celsius rise. Former President of USA Donald Trump had argued that the Paris agreement was disadvantageous for America, whereas it provided benefit to countries like China, Russia, and India. He had said that the agreement could be economically detrimental to the US and cost 2.5 million Americans their jobs by 2025.
Rejoining the climate deal was a commitment that Biden had made in his election campaign. This was one of the few executive orders that he signed in front of reporters on Jan 20, soon after his arrival at the White House as President. According to an official, the Paris Agreement will enter into force for the USA on February 19, 2021.
John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Change, said that Biden, by rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, has restored America’s credibility and commitment. He added that America will work on setting a floor, not a ceiling for climate leadership. He said, “It’s time to get to work, the road to Glasgow begins here.”