Syria has announced it will sign the Paris Climate Agreement, leaving the US the only country in the world which has not signed, after Donald Trump withdrew earlier this year.
Until recently just Syria and Nicaragua had refused to join, believing the agreement did not go far enough. Now both have agreed to sign.
Almost 200 countries have now pledged to work to limit harmful greenhouse gas emissions and avert dangerous climate change by keeping global warming “well below 2 degrees Celsius”.
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.
The US was one of the first countries to begin putting the plan into action. Former President Barack Obama bypassed Congress by signing an executive order - which made it easy for Donald Trump to withdraw from the deal in June.
Domestically, the move “appears to be part of a larger scheme to roll back Obama-era environmental regulations, including the Clean Power Plan which was supposed to be one of the main vehicles for the US to meet Paris targets”, says The Independent.
However Trump’s decision to quit the Paris Agreement despite huge opposition both at home and abroad may have inadvertently strengthened all other nations’ resolve, according to Glen Peters of the Centre for International Climate Research in Oslo.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Peters said: “This is one side benefit of the Trump thing. It plays a role in galvanising the remaining 200 or so countries. So he may actually achieve the opposite and strengthen the Paris Agreement.”
There are hopes that, given provisions aimed at cutting emissions will not take effect until 2020, the White House can still be persuaded to back the accord. Failing that, Trump may not win a second term, leaving the possibility open for his successor to rejoin the agreement once inaugurated.
-
Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace planSpeed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s planSpeed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sitesSpeed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Netanyahu agrees to Trump’s new Gaza peace planSpeed Read At President Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they agreed upon a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
The dark history of myths about immigrants eating swans and petsIn the Spotlight Nigel Farage has mimicked Donald Trump and peddled tropes and rumours that have long been used to ‘dehumanise’ immigrants
-
What would happen if Israel lost America’s support?Today’s big question Loss of US backing could be a ‘catastrophe’ for Israel
