The US announces its return to the Paris Agreement

In 2020, the US officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement – a decision that was made by President Trump in 2017. However, Joe Biden has announced that the US will rejoin the international deal to combat climate change by committing to climate targets. 

The US should become a member of the agreement in the next 30 days and will submit its targets. This is good news for environmental campaigners, as the country is the second-largest greenhouse gas produced, second only to China. 

The Paris Agreement, which was introduced in 2015, has already been ratified by 190 countries, which all have their own targets and reduction plans. The overall aim is to keep global temperature rises to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. 

How will this affect climate change?

At the moment, only a handful of countries haven’t signed the agreement. The US plays a major role internationally as, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it is responsible for approximately 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Before withdrawing from the agreement, it had agreed to lower its emissions. Now, as Joe Biden has promised to take strong action on combating climate change, it’s predicted that new, ambitious goals will be put in place. 

This could mean a complete overhaul of various industries, including transport, industrial sectors, and electricity. Leaders have already announced that they plan to invest $1.7 trillion towards this aim in the coming years, which includes private and state investments. 

The effects of this will be noticed around the globe. With the US investing substantial sums of money into green investments, other countries will benefit from new technological innovations, as well as more competitive prices for green energy. 

Although a number of countries aren’t on track to meet their climate commitments, and the UN has predicted that warming won’t be reduced by enough to meet the targets, by working collectively, it’s much more likely that they will be met in the coming years.