The United States backed out of the Paris Agreement in the year 2016 under the leadership of former President Donald Trump.
However, the current President Joe Biden plans to enter the Paris Agreement after four years.
There was no climate policy in the US under Trump’s rule. But the new President is a firm believer in fighting climate change. Under his rule, the US needs to catch-up on all the policies and plans to reduce carbon emissions.
After President Biden’s inauguration, he will again become a part of the Paris Agreement to fight climate change.
Paris Agreement
It is an international climate accord. It was adopted on 12th December 2015 to fight climate change. Several parties came together for a sustainable low carbon future. All the nations came together to fight a global problem. The main aim of this agreement was to prevent the global temperature from increasing by 2 degree Celsius.
Currently, 194 states and the European Union is a part of the Paris Agreement. On 1st June 2017, the Trump administration took an exit from the Paris Agreement. It created chaos in the country. There were heavy protests from people in response to this decision.
Joe Biden and Pairs Agreement
The current President Joe Biden has promised the citizens to become a part of the agreement. He has taken this decision on his first day of action.
As per the agreement, the US will again become a part of the Paris Agreement. Trump administration has done huge damage to the US’s reputation. The US not only ceased to be a part of the agreement, but removed all the restrictions in the environmental law.
However, Biden and Kamala Harris are soon going to change this. The US has been out of the agreement for too long. The country has to work really hard to reach the goals of the agreement.
There will be lots of speed bumps in the way. There are lots of expectations from the US being the world leader. This nation can have a huge impact on the agreement as the US ranks one in terms of carbon emission.
President Joe Biden has to take many efforts to rebuild the relations and catch up on all the losses. He needs to act fast and set up new policies to reduce the emission. He needs to decarbonize the power sector to make a difference.
Paris Agreement: The Challenges
The US played a very important role in the Paris Agreement. Ever since the pull-out, members have lost their trust in the US. Many new countries have joined the agreement.
There are many changes in the agreement. The US have to not only catch up with all the changes by face many challenges as well. China being the second-largest carbon emitter in the world, has taken a pledge to go carbon neutral by 2060. Other members have taken a pledge to go carbon neutral by 2050.
The US needs to come up with new plans and climate policy to reduce their carbon emission. There need to be restrictions on the industries. Changes need to be made in the energy policy and automobile policy.
Green energy and green technology investment should be the priority of the United States. With proper plans and implementation, Biden government can easily face all the challenges.
People have huge expectations from Biden government. He has already laid out several plans to tackle climate change. If everything goes as per the plan, the US will be a game-changer in fighting global climate change.