Syria signs Paris Agreement - leaving US only country in the world to refuse climate change deal
Also,
Trump not invited to Paris climate summit next month
Syria has signed the Paris climate agreement, leaving the US as the only country in the world not signed up to the framework to deal with greenhouse gas emissions.
When President Donald Trump announced he intended to pull the US out of the agreement, it initially meant America would join Nicaragua and Syria on a small list of countries who were not part of the deal.
The embattled country made the announcement in Bonn, Germany at the United Nations climate change negotiations (COP23). Syria is facing the sixth year of a brutal civil war, which started as rebel groups fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad and and has expanded to include a battle against Isis.
The Paris accord was signed by nearly 200 countries in December 2015 in an effort to curb global greenhouse gas emissions and contain global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.
Until recently Nicaragua was also a holdout but because the Central American country 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.
Scientists had confirmed that the emissions levels agreed upon by top polluters like the US, EU, China, and India were not low enough to keep sea levels from rising and keep global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, let alone the recommended and more ambitious goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100.
However, parties to the deal agreed - it was a far cry from having no global climate change agreement at all.
Also,
Trump not invited to Paris climate summit next month
French authorities say U.S. President Donald Trump is not among more than 100 world leaders invited to Paris for a climate summit next month.
French President Emmanuel Macron plans a summit to push his "Make our Planet Great Again" agenda on Dec. 12, the anniversary of the 2015 Paris climate accord.
A French diplomatic official said the countries invited are those who are "especially committed" to applying the Paris accord.
An invitation will soon be sent to invite the United States "at a diplomatic level," the official said. He was speaking anonymously in accordance with the French presidency's customary practice ahead of a major event.
Trump has said that the U.S. will pull out of the 2015 Paris accord unless he can secure a better deal.
