House Democrats introduce bill to keep the US in the Paris Agreement

Enlarge / The Capitol Building in Washington DC. (credit: Getty Images)

On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) joined Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) in announcing the Climate Action Now Bill, which is intended to stop the United States from exiting the Paris Agreement. President Donald Trump vowed to pull out of the Obama-era agreement in 2017, saying that its terms would unnecessarily harm US industry.

The Paris Agreement was signed by almost every country in the world, with the exception of Nicaragua and Syria. The signatory countries promised to take steps to hold global warming to 2C, and the United States pledged to contribute $3 billion to help more impoverished countries reach the common goal.

Although Trump announced his intention to break the agreement two years ago, the terms of the agreement have required that the US continue to submit progress reports until it can formally petition to exit the Paris Agreement in November 2019. The US will have to remain in the agreement for a year after that before it can exit.

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