US officially rejoins the Paris climate accord

The United States officially rejoined the landmark international accord to limit global warming known as the Paris Agreement on Friday.

Hours after he was sworn-in on January 20, President Joe Biden signed an executive order beginning the 30-day process for the US to reenter the global pact.

The US had officially exited the agreement late last year on former President Donald Trump’s orders, becoming the first and only country to formally pull out of the deal since it was adopted in 2015. Trump spent much of his time in office weakening many of the country’s bedrock climate and environmental guardrails.

On Friday, Secretary of State Tony Blinken called the Paris Agreement an “unprecedented framework for global action.”

“Now, as momentous as our joining the Agreement was in 2016 — and as momentous as our rejoining is today — what we do in the coming weeks, months, and years is even more important,” Blinken said in a statement.

Under the agreement, countries are expected to enhance their commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions every five years.

This story is breaking and will be updated.