Ambitious goals will ensure the United States and the world can meet the urgent demands of the climate crisis
Brasilia, February 19, 2021: Today the United States officially rejoined the Paris Agreement, renewing its commitment to partnering with other nations to tackle the global threat of climate change. On his first day in office, President Biden signed the instrument returning the United States to the December 12, 2015, Paris Agreement, a critical framework for global action to avoid planetary warming and for building global resilience to the climate impacts we are already experiencing.
“There is no time to waste,” President Biden said in the Oval Office, as he signed a U.S. acceptance of the agreement. “We’re going to combat climate change in a way we have not before.”
Upon the rejoining today, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, “The Paris Agreement is an unprecedented framework for global action. We know because we helped design it and make it a reality. Its purpose is both simple and expansive: to help us all avoid catastrophic planetary warming and to build resilience around the world to the impacts from climate change we already see.”
Brazil and the United States share similar environmental challenges and a history of working together productively to combat those challenges. As parties under the Paris Agreement, our two nations will continue to collaborate on the protection and preservation of the environment while promoting the sustainable growth of our economies. Addressing real threats from climate change and promoting science-based approaches are core aspects of U.S. domestic and foreign policy priorities. They are vital to our discussions of national security, migration, international health efforts, and to our economic diplomacy and trade talks.
The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to addressing climate change, creating jobs, building infrastructure, and delivering environmental justice. President Biden has set ambitious goals that will ensure America and the world can meet the urgent demands of the climate crisis, while empowering American workers and businesses to lead a clean energy revolution that achieves a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and puts the United States on an irreversible path to a net-zero economy by 2050.
“The stakes on climate change just simply couldn’t be any higher than they are right now. It is existential. We use that word too easily, and we throw it away. But we have a big agenda in front of us on a global basis, and President Biden is deeply committed”, stated John Kerry, the first-ever international Climate Envoy for national security.
We are reengaging the world on all fronts, including at the President’s April 22nd Leaders’ Climate Summit. And further out, we very much looking forward to working with the United Kingdom and other nations around the world to make COP26 a success.
