War-torn Syria has agreed to become a signatory of the Paris climate change agreement the world reached in 2015, leaving the United States as the only country in the world that does not support the framework deal to combat greenhouse gas emissions.
Reports indicated that the country made the announcement in Bonn, Germany at the COP 23 UN climate summit. And this leaves the US – one of the world’s top environmental polluters, as a loner in the global attempt to cut down greenhouse gas emissions.
The Paris accord was signed by nearly 200 countries in December 2015, to limit global warming to within 2 degrees Celsius.
When President Donald Trump announced he intended to pull the US out of the agreement, it initially meant the US would join Nicaragua and Syria on a small list of countries who were not part of the deal, but Syria which is facing the sixth year of a brutal civil conflict, has now opted out of that group with its decision a month after Nicaragua signed the deal.
Before it signed up, Nicaragua, felt the agreement did not go far enough in putting limits on emissions and helping poorer countries adapt to an already-changed planet with solid financial commitments by wealthier nations, however signed saying it was better than nothing at all.
Roua Shurbaji, a spokeswoman at the Syrian mission to the United Nations, reportedly said in the New York Times that the country’s decision was part of an effort “to be effective in all international areas including climate change.”
Though Syria has not yet submitted targets for cutting greenhouse gases as requested in the agreement, it however produces only a tiny fraction of global emissions.
Shurbaji further stated: “We will get there. We are in the process of becoming part of the agreement. We will have our commitments and targets.”
Also, Paula Caballero, director of the climate change program at the World Resources Institute, said on this: “With Syria’s decision, the relentless commitment of the global community to deliver on Paris is more evident than ever. The U.S.’s stark isolation should give Trump reason to reconsider his ill-advised announcement and join the rest of the world in tackling climate change.”
