USA formally withdraws from Paris Agreement

Under article 28 of the Paris Agreement, a Party may withdraw at any time after three years from the date on which the accord has entered into force for that Party, and such withdrawal takes effect upon expiry of one year from the date of receipt by the Depositary of the notification of withdrawal. The USA had accepted the Paris Agreement on 3 September, 2016 and it entered into force for the country on 4 November that year. This meant it had to stay in the pact until at least 2019. On 4 August, 2017 United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced he had received a notification from the USA expressing its intention to withdraw from the agreement as soon as it was eligible to do so.

Yesterday's joint statement noted "with regret" that the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement had formally come into effect, adding, "As we look towards COP26 in Glasgow, we remain committed to working with all US stakeholders and partners around the world to accelerate climate action, and with all signatories to ensure the full implementation of the Paris Agreement."

The UN was this year forced to postpone COP26 - its latest global climate change conference – because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, next November, hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy.

"The science is clear that we must urgently scale up action and work together to reduce the impacts of global warming and to ensure a greener, more resilient future for us all," yesterday's joint statement read. "The Paris Agreement provides the right framework to achieve this. Our efforts must include support for those countries and communities at the frontline of climate change. It is vital that we take renewed action to hold the temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius and take best efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees."

The Paris Agreement marks its fifth anniversary on 12 December.