Just hours after being sworn in as the next US president, Joe Biden signed an executive order to bring the US back into the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, an international treaty signed by almost every country in the world committing to reduce climate emissions and halt global warming.

The US had been a founding signatory of the agreement in 2015, but removed itself from the pact in 2017 under the presidency of Donald Trump.

Although widely anticipated, the move by Biden to reinstate the US to the Paris Climate Agreement is hugely important in the fight against global warming. The US is the world’s largest and most influential economy.

Influential

Its ability to influence and encourage change around the world cannot be overstated. Not only that, but the US remains the world’s most advanced economy, thanks to a constant focus on innovation, R&D and new technology.

By re-joining the Paris climate accord, Biden is sending a clear signal to US industry and business that decarbonisation is the only game in town for the next few years. As we’ve seen countless times over the past century, the ability of US entrepreneurs and businesses to react to a challenge often creates game-changing advances in technology.

A renewed sense of climate urgency in the US is just the shot in the arm needed to accelerate large-scale climate action in the years ahead, particularly in heavy industries like oil, gas and cement production.