In exactly 77 days US will rejoin the Paris climate accord: Biden

Washington, Nov 05: Commenting on US' withdrawal from 2015 Paris climate agreement, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday vowed that "in exactly 77 days, a Biden administration will rejoin it", which will be his first day in the White House.

Biden's comment came hours after the withdrawal ordered by Donald Trump took effect.
US President Donald Trump had first announced his intention to withdraw in June 2017.
US had acceded to the Paris Agreement in 2016 under the Obama administration when Joe Biden was the vice president. It was a signature achievement of the Obama administration.

Biden, 77, has not won the presidential elections yet, but is inching closer to be declared the winner by garnering 253 electoral votes out of the required 270. His Republican rival and incumbent US President Donald Trump has got 213 electoral votes, according to latest projections released by the US media.

The Paris accord committed the US and 187 other countries to keeping rising global temperatures below 2C above pre-industrial levels and attempting to limit them even more, to a 1.5C rise.

Trump argues that the agreement is disadvantageous for the US, while it gives benefits to countries like China, Russia and India. According to him, it could be economically detrimental and cost 2.5 million Americans their jobs by 2025.

The US is the second leading producer of all carbon dioxide emissions globally, behind China.

Meanwhile, Biden has proposed a USD 5 trillion plan to combat climate change.