US Rejoins Paris Agreement.

This email received from the White House Press Office this evening.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
January 20, 2020

ACCEPTANCE ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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.
 
Done at Washington this 20th day of January, 2021.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

###

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January 21, 2021 1:17 pm

For the record, the Paris Accords are not a treaty under the US constitution Article 2§2.2. Those were defined to Thomas Jefferson when serving as Geoge Washington’s first SoS: ‘immutable save by mutual assent’. The opt out clause President Trump used to exit proves it not a Treaty.

Nor is it a Congressional pact, like USMCA, requiring majority approval both branches of Congress.

It is a mere Presidential Agreement. And as such, given the wording of the Paris Accords themselves, is merely aspirational. There are NO enforcement mechanisms either for ‘goals’ or ‘climate reparation funds’. Its all virtue signaling optics. Any nonbinding commitments Biden may now make cannot be enforced via the US courts, even tho some lower court might stupidly try.

Trump’s exit sent a strong MAGA message to especially Europe, China, and the UNFCCC. There was no other purpose. IMO This is not a Biden move to get worked up over, unlike Keystone XL or illegal alien amnesty or rejoining WHO.

Reply to  Rud Istvan
January 21, 2021 1:39 pm

Right Rud. Moreover this sort of aspirational Presidential Agreement is fairly common in international dealings. They have political force, not legal force. It will be interesting to see how Biden tries to keep this political promise. That will be up to Congress.

Reply to  David Wojick
January 21, 2021 4:20 pm

Yup. But in this case Congress does not have the legal chops.

Reply to  Rud Istvan
January 21, 2021 2:09 pm

The fundamental flaw of your analysis is that you are ignoring the Climate Aid Fund payments. $1billion of government funds from the treasury that Obama sent out as he was leaving office is not “aspirational.” Sending that money out is clear Separation of Powers violation where Congress has the constitutional Power of the Purse. Absent Congressional approval via treaty or appropriation, UN climate aid fund payments from the US government are unconstitutional.

Reply to  Joel O'Bryan
January 21, 2021 3:20 pm

Obama gave the GCF $1 billion from the State Department budget. He had committed $3 billion. Regardless of a treaty, I don’t see why Dems couldn’t make donations a budget item.
The GCF is funding a $1.5 billion project in China. Maybe some of that will trickle back to lubricate lawmakers.
https://verdeviews.wordpress.com/2020/12/27/maldives-canary-in-a-gold-mine/

Reply to  Joel O'Bryan
January 21, 2021 4:22 pm

Dems could make Paris reparations a 2021 Green Climate budget item. At their 2022 expense.

Clyde Spencer
Reply to  Rud Istvan
January 21, 2021 8:58 pm

What do you make of the claim by TEWS_Pilot that

The United Nations describes it as “a legally binding international treaty on climate change,” and it also meets the definition of a treaty under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which states that a treaty is “an international agreement concluded between [two or more] States in written form and governed by international law.”

January 21, 2021 1:56 pm

First act of utter stupidity from the desiccated zombie.

ResourceGuy
January 22, 2021 10:59 am

Biden must have a team involved in cherry picking the policy moves that don’t mean much in substance but that pay political dividends.

Case in point on Keystone XL
Even without Keystone XL, U.S. set for record Canadian oil imports (yahoo.com)

Jim
January 22, 2021 6:53 pm

I bet Biden could not tell you anything at all specific about the Paris agreement he has signed. Our puppet president does what he is told to do.

Shanghai Dan
January 22, 2021 10:04 pm

Gotta love an “agreement” that takes 3 years to leave – and 30 days to re-join.