What is Paris Climate Agreement that Biden is set to rejoin in first steps as President

The incoming administration of Joe Biden is going to mark a significant shift in America’s stance on a range of issues including the Paris Agreement of 2015 that the outgoing Donald Trump administration had officially left only in November 2020. Even during campaigning for the presidential seat at the White House and after being elected in the US Election 2020, Biden has reiterated that the US will be rejoining the climate accord within the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change. According to Trump, in a bid to fulfil his duty of ‘protecting’ US and Americans, it was essential to withdraw from the Paris Accord.

What is the Paris Climate Accord?

Paris Climate Accord or Paris Agreement of 2015 is a legally binding global treaty to tackle the issue of climate change that, according to experts, is at an alarming level. It was adopted by at least 196 Parties at the COP 21 in Paris on December 12, 2015, and finally came into force on November 4, 2016. The Agreement had tied the parties to achieve an ambitious goal of limiting global warming to well below 2, “preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.” Therefore, the UNFCCC had also stated that in order to achieve the long-term goal, the member nations had to aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and the subsequently achieve climate neutral world by mid-century. The accord is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because for the first time ever, it has bound all nations into a "common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects".

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How does the Paris Agreement work?

According to the official website, UNFCCC has stated that the implementation of the Paris Agreement requires both economic and social transformation that is best suited according to science. The 2015 accord works on a 5-year cycle of the increasingly ambitious climate action carried out by the nations. In 2020, when the accord completed five years, the US, UK and France will organise a global climate summit 'Climate Ambition Summit 2020' in collaboration with Chile and Italy.  Several leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the virtual summit 

However,  teen climate activist Greta Thunberg on December 10 called the world leaders out on “empty promises”. She noted that that the past five years were the “hottest”. She had also said, “The five years following the Paris Agreement have been the five hottest years ever recorded. And during that time the world also emitted more the 200 gigatons of carbon dioxide” and even called for a “system change”.

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What are its achievements?

From finance to long-term goals, the Paris climate accord was already historical bringing 196 countries together to battle the environmental pollution. Without exact statistics, UNFCCC has catalogued the achievements of accord saying that “the years since its entry into force have already sparked low-carbon solutions and new markets". It added, "More and more countries, regions, cities and companies are establishing carbon neutrality targets. Zero-carbon solutions are becoming competitive across economic sectors representing 25% of emissions. This trend is most noticeable in the power and transport sectors and has created many new business opportunities for early movers. By 2030, zero-carbon solutions could be competitive in sectors representing over 70% of global emissions".

Why rejoining the accord means for the US?

The United States will be rejoining the accord at one of the most critical times for the climate and the economy that is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. By joining the agreement, as per reports, the US will also regain its authority to accelerate the efforts that are already being made to tackle the climate crisis and raise global ambitions. While other nations including European Union (EU), Japan, South Korea have made bold pledged to reduce emissions but Biden has also announced that the future is net-zero by 2050. Even though the nations were moving forward without America in the last four years, Biden’s promises will land one of the greatest economies of the world on the force for the earth.

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