CLIMATE CHANGE/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “And then there were two: the US and Syria.
As Nicaragua signs on to the Paris Agreement, the United States and Syria are now the only two nations in the world who have refused to be members of the climate pact.
The Central American country held out on signing the deal for two years, based on criticisms that it was ‘insufficient’ in addressing climate change. On Monday [10-23-17], however, the Nicaraguan government announced its intent to join the accord. Vice President and first lady Rosario Murillo said they sent a ‘document of adhesion’ to the United Nations, according to Nicaragua’s state-run media outlet El 19 Digital…
The landmark pact was agreed upon by nearly 200 countries in 2015 and is dedicated to lowering emissions and strengthening countries’ abilities to deal with the effects of climate change. Nicaragua was the only country to reject it at the time. Syria, plunged in a civil war, was not present at the negotiations.
US President Donald Trump announced in June that the nation would withdraw from the climate accord, a process that will be complete in 2020…
The leaders of France, Italy and Germany indicated in a joint statement that the US could not unilaterally renegotiate the agreement. The UN body that facilitated the deal said it ‘cannot be renegotiated based on the request of a single party.’
The White House reiterated last month its intention to pull out of the deal unless changes are made.”
-Jennifer Hansler, “US and Syria are now the only two countries not in the Paris Climate Accord,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Oct. 24, 2017 01:52pm