President Joe Biden says former President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord “put us behind the eight ball a little bit.”
At the COP26 climate summit Monday, Biden told other world leaders, “I guess I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact that the United States under the last administration pulled out of the Paris accord.”
The president explained Americans have to understand that “making these investments in a clean energy future isn’t just a need to fight climate change…It’s an enormous opportunity to create good paying jobs for our own workers today and to spur long term economic growth that’s going to improve the quality of life for all people.”
Watch some of Biden’s comments below:
President Biden at the #COP26: "I guess I shouldn't apologize, but I do apologize for the fact the United States, in the last administration, pulled out of the Paris Accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit." pic.twitter.com/NmoVnfygF0
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 1, 2021
Biden also recognized Americans “four or five years ago, weren’t at all sure about climate change, whether it was real.”
He added, “Well, they have, as they say in southern parts of my state, seen the lord. They’ve seen what’s happened back home, the incredible changes that are taking place, and they’re now finally — finally, finally, finally — realizing the sense of urgency that you all are.”
In November of 2019, Trump announced plans to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement, “In international climate discussions, we will continue to offer a realistic and pragmatic model — backed by a record of real world results — showing innovation and open markets lead to greater prosperity, fewer emissions, and more secure sources of energy.”
He continued, “We will continue to work with our global partners to enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change and prepare for and respond to natural disasters.”
The United States officially dropped out of the agreement in November of 2020. The country later rejoined the agreement in February.
“The Paris Agreement is an unprecedented framework for global action. We know because we helped design it and make it a reality,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
He added, “Its purpose is both simple and expansive: to help us all avoid catastrophic planetary warming and to build resilience around the world to the impacts from climate change we already see.”
