Energy & Environment

Nicaragua signs Paris climate deal, leaving US, Syria as only countries out

Nicaragua has officially signed on to the Paris climate change agreement, leaving the United States and Syria as the only two countries not supporting the accord.

The Guardian reported Monday that the Nicaraguan government presented the relevant documents for the agreement at the United Nations.

The Central American country initially didn’t sign on to the agreement because officials said it didn’t go far enough in its goals, but Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega told local media last month that the country would soon sign on to the agreement.

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Nicaragua’s move leaves only the U.S. and Syria opposed to the agreement.

President Trump announced he would be withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate change agreement at the beginning of June, calling it “unfair.”

“The bottom line is that the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States,” Trump said at the time.

The Trump administration filed formal notice with the United Nations in August that it would be leaving the deal “as soon as it is eligible to do so.” The earliest the U.S. can leave the deal is Nov. 4, 2020.

Trump’s decision was met with widespread criticism. After his announcement, a dozen states and hundreds of cities announced they would uphold the tenants of the climate deal.