Australia ready to welcome US return to Paris accord and WHO under Biden administration

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, on November 9, said that his country would welcome President-elect Joe Biden restoring the US to the Paris Climate accord. The United States had formally withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement last week, however, Biden had promised to rejoin the Paris pact and also commit to net zero emissions by 2050. Now, as Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, Morrison said that he would welcome the US back to the Paris agreement and US return to WHO would also be welcome. 

Morrison said, “We would be welcoming the United States back into the Paris Agreement, somewhere we’ve always been”. He added, “US return to other global organisation like the World Health Organisation (WHO) would also be welcome”. 

While the Australian state and territory governments have already adopted the 2050 target for net-zero emissions, Morrison’s federal government has yet to do so. Australia is a major exporter of fossil fuels and Morrison said that several countries have made qualified climate commitments. On Monday, independent lawmaker Zali Steggall had also introduced a climate bill to federal parliament seeking a net-zero target. Steggal said that Australia would be the “pariah” of the international community if it didn’t strengthen its climate commitments. 

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Australia would welcome US engaging with WTO 

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Morrison had also said that his country would also welcome the United States engaging with the World trade Organisation because the way out of global recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic is “market-based trade, fair, trade, under the proper rules through the WTO”. While congratulating Biden and Kamala Harris on their success in the US elections, Morrison said that he looked forward to “forging a great partnership”. 

He added that Biden would bring “a deep experience and a deep history” to their relationship. Further, Morrison also thanked the Trump administration for a “very, very good relationship” and added that he hoped this would continue during the transition period. 

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