And then there were two.
This week, Nicaragua, one of the few holdouts from the Paris climate accords, did an about-face and said it will sign the agreement.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced that the Central American nation of 6 million people ― about the size of Maryland ― would sign the landmark pact voluntarily committing nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to El Nuevo Diario, one of the nation’s major newspapers.
After President Obama, who orchestrated the pact bringing together more than 190 nations, only two nations had yet to sign the agreement in April of this year.
One was Syria, which was and still is in the middle of a bloody civil war. The other was Nicaragua, which attended 2015 talks but refused to sign the accord.
President Trump announced his intent to make the United States the third nonparticipant in the pact because of, as he said in a speech in June, “the draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement imposes on our country.”
Nicaragua announced Wednesday its intention to join the Paris climate agreement, leaving the United States and Syria as the only two countries that do not support the accord.
According to a report from a Managua-based television station 100% Noticias, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said his country plans to sign on to the agreement “soon,” though he did not provide a specific timetable on joining or ratifying the agreement to limit global temperature rise to 2° Celsius. Nicaragua had previously declined to join the agreement because it felt that it did not go far enough to curb emissions and did not require enough financial help from wealthy, developed nations for climate adaptation and mitigation in developing countries.
Despite refusing to sign on to the agreement, Nicaragua has demonstrated a deep commitment to renewable energy. Since 2005, the country has switched from being almost entirely dependent on imported fossil fuels to generating more than half of its electricity from renewable sources. And the country expects that number to climb higher, with a goal of producing 90 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Technically, if and when Nicaragua joins the agreement, Syria — which is currently embroiled in a civil war — will be the only nation in the world to not be party to the agreement. President Trump has signaled his intention to withdraw the United States from the agreement, but there can be no action on that promise until November 4, 2020. Trump officially filed notice of his intent to withdraw the United States from the agreement in August, though such a document does not carry any legal weight, since according to the terms of the agreement no country can begin the withdrawal process until three years after the agreement has entered into force.
great graphic! Thanks. Good to know we’re in such esteemed company as Syria.