Rejoining the international climate accord is the first step into a long journey back into the good faith of the international community working to curb emissions and prevent the worst effects of climate change.
The United States has rejoined the Paris climate accord, after former President Donald Trump spent four years disparaging the international agreement and eventually following through on a promise to withdraw the country's commitment.
"Now, the Biden administration is vowing to make up for what it says is lost time and to repair the country’s standing among nations after President Donald Trump made the United States the only nation to drop out of the accord," report Dino Grandoni and Brady Dennis for The Washington Post.
The country only officially left the Paris climate accord in November, but the to-do list for getting the United States back up to speed is lengthy, according to the article.
"The administration plans to ratchet up the U.S. commitments to reducing emissions while pressing countries including China and India to curtail construction of coal-fired plants and urging Brazil to preserve more of the Amazon rainforest. At the same time, Biden will have to contend with a deeply divided Congress and other competing factions at home as his administration crafts a regulatory and legislative agenda for cutting emissions."
With so much work on the horizon, Grandoni and Dennis bookmark April 22, Earth Day, as a particularly big event. The White House is planning a summit of world leaders as a prelude to a U.N. climate conference scheduled for Scotland in November.
FULL STORY: U.S. officially rejoins Paris accord, vowing to make up for lost time
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