By Daniel Itai.
(News of The South) – The United States of America (USA) has decided to pull out of the Paris climate accord at a time when global warming has immensely increased.
USA which is regarded as the world’s most carbon polluter said the Paris climate agreement was putting an unfair economic burden on its citizens.
The Paris accord, agreed in 2015, committed the US and 187 other countries to keeping rising global temperatures below 2C above pre-industrial levels and attempting to limit them even more, to a 1.5C rise.
The decision to withdraw was taken by President Donald Trump after he came to office in 2017. Mike Pompeo the US secretary of state said,“today we begin the formal process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, the US is proud of our record as a world leader in reducing all emissions, fostering resilience, growing our economy, and ensuring energy for our citizens. Ours is a realistic and pragmatic model.”
However, hundreds of local governments, businesses and organisations in the US have joined the We Are Still In movement, pledging to cut emissions and move to renewable energy.
France and Japan have led international condemnation of the US move. The French Presidential office said Emmanuel Macron and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would sign a pact in Beijing on tomorrow that makes reference to the irreversibility of the Paris climate accord.
Already this year Africa has been hit by devasting cyclones which have since claimed hundreds of lives as well as an excessive drought due to the climate change.
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