U.S. formally exits climate pact
BERLIN — The United States on Wednesday formally left the Paris Agreement, a global pact it helped forge five years ago to avert the threat of catastrophic climate change.
The move, long threatened by President Donald Trump and triggered by his administration a year ago, further isolates Washington in theworld but has no immediate impact on international efforts to curb global warming.
Still, the U.N. agency that oversees the treaty; France, the host of the 2015 Paris talks; and three countries currently chairing the body that organizes them— Chile, Britain and Italy — issued a joint statement expressing regret at the U.S. withdrawal.
“There is no greater responsibility than protecting our planet and people from the threat of climate change,” the statement said. “The science is clear thatwe must urgently scale up action and work together to reduce the impacts of global warming and to ensure a greener, more resilient future for us all. The Paris Agreement provides the right framework to achieve this.”
At present, 189 countries have ratified the accord, which aims to keep the increase in average temperatures worldwide “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and ideally no more than 1.5 C (2.7 F), compared to pre-industrial levels.
A further six countries have signed, but not ratified the pact.
Scientists say any rise beyond 2 degrees Celsius could have a devastating impact on large parts of theworld, raising sea levels, stoking tropical storms and worsening droughts and floods.
Theworld already has warmed 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees
Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial time, so the efforts are really about preventing another 0.3 to 0.7 degrees Celsius (0.5 to 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming.
“Having the U.S. pull out of Paris is likely to reduce efforts to mitigate, and therefore increase the number of people who are put into a life- or-death situation because of the impacts of climate change. This is clear from the science,” said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald, a co-author of U.N. science reports on global warming.
The Paris accord requires countries to set their own voluntary targets for reducing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, and to steadily increase those goals every few years. The only binding requirement is that nations must accurately report on their efforts.
“The beauty of this system is that nobody can claim they were bullied into some sort of plan,” said Nigel Purvis, a former U.S. climate negotiator in the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. “They’re not negotiated. They’re accepted.”
In recent weeks, China, Japan and South Korea have joined the European Union and several other countries in setting national deadlines to stop pumping more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than can be removed from the air with trees and other methods.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has said he favors rejoining the Paris accord. Because itwas set up as an executive agreement, not a treaty, congressional approval isn’t required, Purvis said.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said the accord “shackles economies and has done nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”