Following a Short Break-Up, the United States Rejoins the Paris Climate Accord; EPA Proposes Regulations to Phase Down HFC Usage

摘要

On January 20, 2021, President Biden initiated the 30-day process to allow the United States to formally reenter the Paris Climate Accord. The United States played a central role in the development of the global climate agreement under the Obama Administration, but officially withdrew in late 2020 in fulfillment of one of the prior administration’s key campaign promises. Biden’s early move to rejoin the Accord similarly counts as a campaign promise kept. As the world’s second largest emitter of GHGs behind China, the United States’ commitment to the Paris Accord and its G HG reduction targets is obviously seen by the nearly 200 international signatories as critical to staving-off climate change.