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The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html[6/14/2021 1:57:44 PM]

President Biden’s decision to return to the climate pact fulfills a campaign pledge, but the United States has some catching up to do.

The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know

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This article was taken from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html

The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html[6/14/2021 1:57:44 PM]

By Jonathan Ellis and Douglas Alteen

Jan. 21, 2021

President Biden signed 17 executive orders on his first day in the Oval Office on Wednesday. Doug Mills/The New York Times

The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html[6/14/2021 1:57:44 PM]

President Biden has recommitted the United States to the Paris climate

agreement, the international accord designed to avert catastrophic global

warming.

The move by Mr. Biden fulfills a campaign promise to return to the pact on

day one of his presidency. A letter to the United Nations signed by the

president on Wednesday formally started the 30-day process of bringing

the United States back into the accord.

What does the decision mean? We have extensive coverage here at The

New York Times, but it is a complex issue and you may be wondering

where to start.

First, here’s the back story of the Paris accord

The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html[6/14/2021 1:57:44 PM]

In December 2015, nearly every country in the world, 195 in all, agreed to

The Arc de Triomphe was illuminated with “The Paris agreement is done” to celebrate the first day of the application of the Paris climate accord in November 2016. Patrick

Kovarik/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html[6/14/2021 1:57:44 PM]

the first global pact aimed at reducing emissions of planet-warming

greenhouse gases. It was a landmark diplomatic achievement and the

pinnacle of President Barack Obama’s environmental agenda.

Scientific studies show that if the world’s carbon emissions continue

unchecked, atmospheric temperatures will continue to rise. The planet

won’t just be hotter, but it will also suffer from rising sea levels, more

powerful storms, droughts that lead to food shortages and other severe

disruptions.

The idea of the Paris climate accord was that every country, rich and poor,

would set goals to curb carbon emissions in an effort to avert the worst

effects of climate change.

Our article from when the agreement was reached in 2015 is a good

Cooling off with sprinklers at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York, in July 2016. In recent years, the record for hottest summer has been successively broken. Alex

Wroblewski/The New York Times

The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html[6/14/2021 1:57:44 PM]

overview of the agreement and what’s at stake.

Need some convincing on global warming? Well, 2020 tied the record for

hottest year on record, and all of the six previous years were among the

hottest ever.

This interactive globe shows where the heat was felt the most.

Trump pulled out of the accord

Former President Donald J. Trump has called climate change a hoax, and

he pledged during his campaign in 2016 to “cancel” the Paris deal. ADVERTISEMENT

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Former President Donald J. Trump announced in June 2017 that the United States would leave the Paris climate accord. Doug Mills/The New York Times

The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html[6/14/2021 1:57:44 PM]

Early in his presidency, Mr. Trump made clear his belief that joint global

action on climate change was incompatible with his “America first”

message. He also predicted that the Paris Agreement would be harmful to

the economy. Environmental advocates disputed the argument that the

Paris accord would cost jobs.

Mr. Trump announced on June 1, 2017, that the United States would

withdraw from the agreement. He cited some dubious data in his speech.

Under the terms of the agreement, the United States could not formally exit

until Nov. 4, 2020. That happened to be the day after the presidential

election, a time frame that guaranteed the agreement would be a 2020

campaign issue.

Cities, states, universities and businesses tried to fill the void left by Mr.

Trump’s withdrawal.

The Paris withdrawal wasn’t Mr. Trump’s only environmental rollback.

We’ve been tracking more than 100 of them.

History’s biggest carbon polluter returns

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The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html[6/14/2021 1:57:44 PM]

While Americans make up just over 4 percent of the world’s population,

they are responsible for almost a third of the excess carbon dioxide in the

atmosphere. China emits more carbon into the atmosphere today, but the

United States had a long head start on burning coal, oil and natural gas.

Some said it was a moral imperative for the United States to stay in the

Paris pact.

Other nations pressed ahead with their Paris commitments despite the

American move. Now headed back into the deal, the United States has a

lot of catching up to do.

President Biden Jr. brings with him the largest team of climate change

experts ever assembled in the White House, and further action on global

warming is expected quickly.

A court ruling in the last days of the Trump presidency gave his

successor a freer hand to strengthen environmental protections.

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A coal-fired power plant in Ghent, Ky. Some said that it was a moral imperative for the United States to stay in the pact. Luke Sharrett for The New York Times

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The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

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The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

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The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html[6/14/2021 1:57:44 PM]

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The Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need to Know - The New York Times

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