Syria will become the latest country to join the Paris climate agreement, according to a report from Bonn, Germany, on Tuesday. This development will leave the United States of America behind as the lone country with a rather antagonistic approach to the deal after Donald Trump's announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the agreement. While delivering a statement from the Rose Garden, Trump said in June that he would be pulling the country out of the climate accord in order to negotiate a deal more suited to his America First policy. But don't worry yet, America is still in the Paris climate Agreement.
While justifying his tentative plans, Trump said, "As president, I have one obligation, and that obligation is to the American people. The Paris Accord would undermine our economy, hamstring our workers, weaken our sovereignty, impose unacceptable legal risks, and put us at a permanent disadvantage to the other countries of the world."
The president went on to say, "It is time to exit the Paris Accord and time to pursue a new deal that protects the environment, our companies, our citizens, and our country." Trump said it was time to "make America great again" while saying, "It is time to put Youngstown, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — along with many, many other locations within our great country — before Paris, France. It is time to make America great again."
Trump's announcement was met with criticism from observers in the country as well as the international community.
In case you're confused as to how the United States remains in the climate accord, it's worth remembering a vital article that necessitates America's presence in the deal for the time being. The Article 28 of the Paris climate agreement notes that the earliest date at which America could leave cannot be prior to Nov. 4, 2020. So, we still have three years left before Trump's administration can take the U.S. out. And Trump's presidency has been clear about following the accord's rule.
By remaining with the agreement, America will still have to abide by the rules stipulated in the accord. One of the main regulations is on the rise of global temperature. The Paris climate accord demands that signed countries limit their temperate rise to 2 degrees Celsius. No more than that.
A rise beyond such a temperature, scientists believe, would have devastating consequences for the earth. The temperature was first suggested in 1977 by Yale economist William Nordhaus and then in 2016, the Paris climate agreement ordained Nordhaus' number as in its rule on global temperature.
Now that Syria is the latest country to support the accord, global attention to America seems to have increased given Trump's remarks in June. As observers have noticed, Syrian participation in the accord is surprising, given the fact that the country is embroiled in a grisly civil war. Political strife notwithstanding, the country made its presence clear during the Bonn summit when its deputy minister of Local Administration and Environment, M. Wadah Katmawi said, "I confirm that the Syrian Arab Republic supports the implementation of Paris climate change accord, in order to achieve the desired global goals and to reflect the principles of justice and shared responsibility, but in accordance with the capabilities of each of the signatories."
In spite of its current participation in the agreement, it seems like that Trump may just go ahead in 2020 and pull America out of it. According to a statement given by press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the president is still apparently on his way to leave the agreement. In September, Sanders tweeted, "Our position on the Paris agreement has not changed. @POTUS has been clear, U.S. withdrawing unless we get pro-America terms."
