UN chief welcomes US return to Paris Climate Agreement

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday praised the United States' decision to rejoin the Paris climate agreement. Officially, the United States was only out of the worldwide global climate pact for 107 days, and was part of former U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from global allegiances in general and his oft-stated but false view that global warming was a laughably mistaken take by the world's scientists.

In a video statement, Guterres said Thursday that the official American reentry was "good news” for the world.

In the address he also set out goals for countries to attend to what he called the "climate catastrophe" as nations recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Goals included phasing out coal, moving investment from fossil fuels to renewable energy and shifting tax burdens "from consumers to polluters".

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is working now on a target that balances meaningful cuts in emissions with political and financial realities.

Settling on a U.S. emissions goal by April, when Biden plans to host world leaders for an Earth Day summit, would help the administration prod other countries for ambitious emissions cuts as well

Image: AP