Statement: Biden expected to keep promise as U.S. will rejoin the international Paris Agreement

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President poised to fulfill important day-one climate change pledge

Environment America

WASHINGTON — When the Trump administration officially pulled the United States out of the international Paris Agreement on Nov. 4, 2020, Joe Biden promised that the United States would rejoin the climate accord upon his first day in office. On Wednesday, Biden is expected to follow through on his commitment to once again be part of this ground-breaking agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   

Environment America had called on Biden to prioritize rejoining the Paris Agreement on his first day in office in the “First Things to Fix” report. The report presented 20 actions for the Biden administration to undertake in early days of office to undo the Trump administration’s rollbacks of environmental laws and protections.

Andrea McGimsey, senior director for Environment America’s Global Warming Solutions campaign, issued the following statement: 

“By rejoining the Paris Agreement on day one, President Biden is sending a crystal clear signal to all Americans and to the world that the United States will once again lead when it comes to solving the climate crisis. By prioritizing this critical international commitment, the president is proving he’s listening to his constituency as more than 60 percent of Americans say they want their government to take climate change seriously. 

“We are thankful for this first action, because it comes with little time left to spare. The natural disasters in 2020, from the repeated storms pummeling the Gulf Coast to the devastation of more than 10 million burned acres, show that we are changing the Earth’s system in unprecedented and unsustainable ways. 

“While we are grateful for this action, we also know this is only the start. We need our country to be fully powered by clean energy, and we must do it quickly and thoroughly. With President Biden leading the way, Congress should step up as a full partner and pass bipartisan, comprehensive climate legislation that meets the targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions that the scientific community has told us we must achieve. The days of dirty, fossil fuel-burning, 19th century technology must be numbered in order to reach a cleaner tomorrow.”

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