On Wednesday, as he waits to see whether he will serve a second term as president, Donald Trump made good on his long-standing promise to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, making it the only country to withdraw from the international treaty designed to curb global warming, while Democratic rival Joe Biden has promised to rejoin the agreement and spend big on green technologies if elected president.
While Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the agreement in 2017, the pact’s wording means it only came into force on Wednesday, which happens to fall the day after a tight election that is still yet to declare a winner.
The withdrawal makes the U.S. the first, and so far only, country of 197 signatories to leave the agreement, a huge blow given the U.S.’ status as the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter.