Watch Live: U.S. re-enters Paris Agreement
The United States on Friday is marking its re-entry into the Paris Agreement, which was originally signed and negotiated during the final years of the Obama administration. The U.S. withdrew from the international climate accord under President Trump last year, and is now re-entering the agreement.
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are marking the re-entry Friday afternoon during the opening session of a global engagement summit.
How to watch the U.S. re-enter the Paris Agreement
- What: U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mark the United States' re-entry into the Paris Agreement during the opening session of the virtual Global Engagement Summit.
- Date: Friday, February 19, 2021
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Virtual
- Online stream: Live on CBSN in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
The climate treaty is dedicated to lowering greenhouse gas emissions in more than 180 countries. It was named after the city where it was agreed to back in 2015.
The agreement's objective is to prevent the global average temperature from warming beyond a point of catastrophe, defined as "well below" a 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) increase compared to pre-industrial levels. To slow the warming, countries agreed to finance programs and share resources with the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Kerry was secretary of state when he signed the Paris climate accord in 2016. On Friday, he said the world has nine years left to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis.
"Even if we did everything that we said we were going to do when we signed up in Paris we would see a rise in the Earth's temperature to somewhere around 3.7 degrees or more, which is catastrophic," Kerry said.
Note: Streaming plans are subject to change
