President Joe Biden Rejoins the Paris Climate Agreement

News

In one of his first acts in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to have the United States rejoin the Paris climate agreement, the largest international effort to curb global warming.

The U.S. officially withdrew from the accord to limit climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions late last year, after President Donald Trump began the process in 2017. It is the only country of the nearly 200 signatories that has withdrawn. Biden vowed to sign on Inauguration Day the documents needed to rejoin the agreement.

The U.S. played a large role in creating the 2015 agreement. It aims to avoid the most catastrophic climate change scenarios by keeping average global temperatures from rising no more than 2 degrees Celsius, and preferably less than 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, compared to pre-industrial times. Global temperatures have already increased by a little more than one degree Celsius.

https://www.npr.org/sections/inauguration-day-live-updates/2021/01/20/958923821/biden-moves-to-have-u-s-rejoin-climate-accord?t=1611232924015

Dublin Airport achieves carbon neutral status

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Dublin Airport is the first airport in Ireland to achieve carbon neutral status.

The airport has reduced its overall carbon emissions by 25 per cent between 2013 and 2019, despite a 63 per cent increase in passenger numbers during the same period.

The airport has adopted a range of measures in recent years, including the use of building management systems, LED lighting, and a pilot solar farm project.

In 2019, Dublin Airport had reduced its energy consumption by 48 per cent compared to average levels between 2006 and 2008.

The airport also committed to net zero carbon by 2050 last year along with almost 200 other European airports in a landmark move for the airport industry.