White House is officially back in Paris climate club

THE United States has officially returned to the Paris Agreement, only 107 days after it left, as President Joe Biden fulfils his promise to reverse the withdrawal ordered by his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump.

The Paris Agreement, signed by 190 parties, aims to hold global warming at an increasingly ambitious 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and preventing catastrophic climate breakdown.

On his first day in office last month, Mr Biden rejoined the multilateral deal, starting a 30-day bureaucratic process. It was one of a sweep of executive orders to tackle the climate crisis and among many U-turns on policies set by Mr Trump.

Mr Biden put tackling the climate crisis at the centre of his election pitch, dubbing it an “existential” threat.

“A cry for survival comes from the planet itself,” the president said in his inaugural address. “A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear now.”

Experts have said international efforts to remain below 2C would struggle without the US, the world’s second-largest emitter after China, being on board.

Climate scientists say there is probably less than a decade left to make the sweeping changes needed in energy, transportation, manufacturing and agriculture, as the world has already warmed by around 1.2C since pre-industrial times.

Mr Biden has promised that the US will be at netzero emissions no later than 2050.

US climate envoy John Kerry took part in virtual events yesterday to mark the US re-entry, saying it will try to make up for lost time.

“We feel an obligation to work overtime to try to make up the difference. We have a lot to do,” Mr Kerry said.