US becomes the first country to officially exit Paris climate accord

NEW DELHI: The United States of America (USA) has become the first country to officially exit the Paris Climate Agreement, on Wednesday, November 4. The agreement was aimed at protection of the planet from extreme impacts of climate change. According to the accord, a country can only leave one year after serving a notice of intent to quit the agreement. The official notice from the US was presented on November 4, 2019.

Joe Biden, USA Presidential candidate, has promised to rejoin the accord reversing the decision of Donald Trump, President, USA. The Paris Agreement is ratified by 189 countries including the European Union (EU), and USA had promised to cut its emissions by 26-28 per cent compared to 2005 levels by 2025. However, the analysis shows that the country is nowhere near that target.

However, even if Biden wins the election, he will face trouble passing the climate legislation without Republican support. Andrew Light, Former Senior Climate Official, said that everybody is waiting to see that how hard it is for Biden to come up with a comprehensive legislative package to get America back to work with clean energy.

This is the second time that USA has pulled out of an international climate agreement after it led the discussions. The first exit was from the Kyoto Protocol, a climate pact signed during the Clinton administration.