Nicaragua has become the latest country to agree to the Paris climate agreement, leaving the US even more isolated.
“The only two countries in the world refusing to be part of the agreement are the United States and a country it has been trying to overthrow, Syria,” The Washington Post says.
Nicaragua initially refused to sign the accord, saying it did not go far enough in tackling climate change and did not require enough sacrifices by wealthy nations. However, President Daniel Ortega has since signalled he will sign, although he hasn't specified when, The Independent reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In June, Donald Trump said he was pulling the US out of the deal, claiming it will cost the US trillions of dollars and hinder oil, gas, coal and manufacturing industries, thus lowering employment. However, Washington cannot legally do this until 2020.
Syria's civil war is thought to have kept it from signing the deal.
The agreement commits signatories to keeping increases in global temperature to "well below" 2C more than pre-industrial levels and "endeavour to limit" them to 1.5C above, the BBC says.
“Nobody expects [the accord] to collapse” without US support, Newsweek said, but Trump's withdrawal may cause “diplomatic headaches” and could prompt legal action against his administration.
Andrew Light, a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute and a senior climate adviser at the State Department under Barack Obama, told The Washington Post that Nicaragua’s decision is “further demonstration that the administration is isolated on this issue”.
However, The Guardian has reported that Trump's decision to withdraw from Paris is a symbolic gesture as the US will continue to move away from cutting emissions “regardless of whether it remains part of the global deal”.
-
August 24 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Putin at Donald Trump's circus, gallons of whitewash, and a foldable cartoon
-
5 Post Office-approved cartoons about mail-in votingCartoons Artists take on reverse logic, Putin's election advice, and more
-
The battle of the weight-loss drugsTalking Point Can Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly regain their former stock market glory? A lot is riding on next year's pills
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
