Syria Signs The Paris Climate Accord, Leaving The United States As The Lone Holdout

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Should President Trump follow through on his promise to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, the United States will now be the only functioning country in the world not a part of it — as in a surprise move, Syria has now decided to sign on. The decision comes as the country is embroiled in a violent civil war. When Trump made the decision to start the process of removing the U.S. from the agreement (which can’t fully happen until 2020), Syria and Nicaragua were the only other two out of 198 nations not a part of the agreement. Nicaragua likewise agreed to join in October.

The historic 2015 agreement was intended to combat climate change by pledging to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. Trump, who has dismissed global warning as a “Chinese hoax,” said of his decision earlier this year, “So, we’re getting out, but we’ll start to negotiate, and we’ll try and see if we can make a deal that’s fair.” The U.S. is second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China.

Despite the president’s decision, cities across the country have vowed to uphold the tenets of the accord, and the state of California even went so far as to sign a deal with China to combat climate change. Likewise, Trump’s decision was highly criticized by world and business leaders, as many companies are taking it upon themselves to do their part in reducing greenhouse emissions.

(Via The Guardian)

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