President Biden signs order confirming US return to the Paris Agreement

President Joe Biden yesterday delivered on his promise to sign an order for the US to rejoin the Paris Agreement on his first day in office, paving the way for the country to formally return to the global accord within 30 days.

The move means every country will once again be signed up to the global treaty, which aims to keep temperature increases 'well below' 2C, following President Trump's controversial decision to quit the agreement.

Within hours of an inauguration in which Biden had warned "a cry for survival comes from the planet itself", the White House issued a statement confirming the immediate delivery of one of the President's central campaign promises.

"I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the United States of America, having seen and considered the Paris Agreement, done at Paris on December 12, 2015, do hereby accept the said Agreement and every article and clause thereof on behalf of the United States of America," the statement read.

A simple letter from Biden to the UN climate change secretariat will formalise America's return to the treaty. However, the move also signals Biden's intent to deliver an updated national climate action plan for the US, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the UN jargon, which will establish a goal to ensure the US boasts net zero emissions by 2050.

Biden provided an early indication of what will feature in the imminent NDC by signing a separate executive order instructing the federal government to revoke a raft of Trump era rollbacks of environmental regulations and embark on a sweeping climate action programme.

Titled "Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis", the wide ranging document established a set of principles for the government's engagement with environmental threats.

"It is… the policy of my Administration to listen to the science; to improve public health and protect our environment; to ensure access to clean air and water; to limit exposure to dangerous chemicals and pesticides; to hold polluters accountable, including those who disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities; to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; to bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change; to restore and expand our national treasures and monuments; and to prioritise both environmental justice and the creation of the well-paying union jobs necessary to deliver on these goals," the order states.

As such, it instructs all government departments and agencies to conduct a full review of all Trump-era regulatory moves.

It also specifically orders the government to start the process of reinstating methane emission, fuel efficiency, energy efficiency, and air quality standards that were scrapped by the Trump administration. And it promises to reinstate protections for federal land and the Arctic refuge that were rolled back under Trump and revoke the permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

Moreover, the order instructs officials to form an inter-agency working group to undertake a review of the "social cost of carbon" (SCC), "social cost of nitrous oxide" (SCN), and "social cost of methane" (SCM) used to inform government decisions. It commits to publishing an interim SCC, SCN, and SCM within 30 days and a final SCC, SCN, and SCM by no later than January 2022.

Additional measures to require the government procurement system and its $500bn budget to switch to clean energy and zero emission vehicles are expected in the coming days.

The moves sparked a warm response from political and business leaders around the world.

Writing on Twitter, French President Emmanuel Macron heralded a major boost to multilateral efforts to tackle the climate crisis. "We are together," he wrote. "We will be stronger to face the challenges of our time. Stronger to build our future. Stronger to protect our planet. Welcome back to the Paris Agreement!"

His comments were echoed by Biden's new climate envoy, John Kerry, who will represent the US in international climate negotiations. "Today, @POTUS rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, restoring America's credibility and commitment - setting a floor, not a ceiling, for our climate leadership," Kerry wrote. "Working together, the world must and will raise ambition. It's time to get to work - the road to Glasgow begins here."

Business groups were similarly effusive in their praise for the decision. The We Are Still In coalition of US businesses and states that formed in response to Trump's decision to quit the Paris Agreement and committed its members to continuing to pursue the goals of the accord issued a statement applauding Biden's decision to sign back up to the treaty. "[We] look forward to working with his administration to tackle the climate crisis," the group added. "On climate and recovery, now is the time for America to go all in."

Mindy Lubber, CEO of the Ceres group of investors, similarly welcomed the raft of climate measures from the new administration. "We applaud President Biden and Vice President Harris for hitting the ground running and demonstrating bold executive leadership on the first day of office," she said. "With so much at stake, their in-depth understanding of the interwoven crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice, economic insecurity and a warming world give me hope and optimism. It truly is a new day for our democracy, our health, our economy and our planet, and US efforts to address the compounding crises we face as a country."

She also stressed that bolder climate action would be warmly welcomed by many businesses. "Investors and companies have repeatedly voiced their support for the US to play a leading role when it comes to climate action and efforts to limit average global temperature rise to no more than 1.5C," she said. "Last year, the CEOs of The Investor Agenda issued an urgent plea to the US to rejoin the Paris Agreement, and nearly 1,500 US leaders, including many influential investors and companies, declared "America is all in" in reference to Biden's commitment to re-join the accord."

Significantly, a number of business groups that have a reputation for lobbying against ambitious climate action welcomed the US return to the Paris Agreement.

Marty Durbin, president of the US Chamber of Commerce's Global Energy Institute, issued a statement declaring that it was "critical that the United States restore its leadership role in international efforts to address the climate challenge". Meanwhile the American Petroleum Institute also issued a statement confirming it supports "the ambitions of the Paris Agreement", although it reiterated that it intends to continue to advocate for natural gas as part of transition "toward cleaner fuels".

However, any hopes that Biden's calls for unity would be met with a shift in approach from leading Republicans in congress were quickly dented, as the Party swiftly attacked the decision to return to the Paris Agreement.

In a statement Republican Senator Steve Daines argued that "the Paris Agreement is a poorly negotiated, fatally flawed treaty that represents a bad deal for American families everywhere".

And Senator Ted Cruz reheated Trump's criticism of the Paris Agreement, writing on Twitter that "by rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, President Biden indicates he's more interested in the views of the citizens of Paris than in the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh".

"This agreement will do little to affect the climate and will harm the livelihoods of Americans," he added.

Pittsburgh voted overwhelming for Biden in last year's election, only to see the result contested without any evidence or foundation by Trump and supporters such as Cruz.

In response to Cruz's complaints about the Paris Agreement the Mayor of Pittsburgh Bill Peduto, who had previously responded to Trump's comparing the city with Paris by reiterating that Pittsburgh supported the Paris Agreement, declared: "Are you kidding me? Here we go, again..."