World leaders applaud US formal return to Paris climate pact

World leaders applaud US formal return to Paris climate pact

After years of very little rainfall, the lakebed of Suesca lagoon sits dry and cracked, in Suesca, Colombia. AP The United States is once again part of the Paris climate accord The United States is back in the Paris climate accord, just 107 days after it left. While Friday's return is heavily symbolic, world leaders say they expect America to prove its seriousness after four years of being pretty much absent. They are especially anticipating an announcement from the US in coming months on its goal for cutting emissions of heat-trapping gases by 2030. The US return to the Paris agreement became official on Friday, almost a month after President Joe Biden told the United Nations that America wants back in. "A cry for survival comes from the planet itself," Biden said in his inaugural address. "A cry that can't be any more desperate or any more clear now." Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office reversing the pullout ordered by his predecessor, President Donald Trump. The Trump administration had announced its withdrawal from the Paris accord in 2019 but it didn't become effective until Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the election, because of provisions