Sustainability

The US will join Syria and Nicaragua as the only nations that aren't part of the Paris agreement

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Hundreds of environmentalists arrange their bodies to form a message of hope and peace in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, December 6, 2015, as the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) continues at Le Bourget near the French capital. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Hundreds of environmentalists arrange their bodies to form a message of hope and peace in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris during COP21 in December 2015.  Thomson Reuters

In December 2015, 195 countries made history when they agreed to the world's most ambitious pact to limit carbon emissions.

The Paris agreement, so named because that's where the COP21 meeting of nations took place, was a landmark accord setting the world on course to keep global surface temperatures from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius above where they were before the Industrial Revolution. 

Climate experts warn that an increase of more than 2 degrees Celsius could bring about irreversible consequences, including unpredictable superstorms and crippling heat waves.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced he was pulling United States out of the agreement, which means the US would join Syria and Nicaragua as the only nations that did not agree to the pact. Even Palestine and North Korea signed it.

Syria, ravaged by civil war, didn't participate, while Nicaragua didn't sign the agreement because it didn't go far enough. The Latin American country's climate envoy Paul Oquist said Nicaragua was "not able to support the consensus."

Nearly every country agreed to the overall accord laying out a framework for countries to adopt clean energy and phase out fossil fuels. Each country also submitted a climate-action plan laying out how it would achieve these goals.

Former President Barack Obama ratified the US's adoption of the agreement in September 2016, but he didn't submit it to Congress for approval. That's how Trump can "cancel" the US's pledge — it was a presidential action.

Of the 195 that signed on, 147 (if you include the US) have since ratified the accord. Here they are:

Paris Agreement FINAL
Skye Gould/Business Insider

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Skye was the Design Director for Business Insider and Insider. She led the Graphics and Photo teams in producing all graphics, data visualizations, story art, photography, and special projects for the newsroom.
Rebecca was an Executive Editor for Business Insider's news division, overseeing the Science, Speed news, Weekend news, LA news, Visual Features, and Voices of Color desks. She worked across teams to assign, coordinate, and edit breaking news, explainers, features, analysis, and investigations. She also developed guides, trainings, and coaching opportunities for the newsroom to get better every day.Rebecca started as a reporter on Tech Insider's science section in 2015, covering everything from solar energy and rocket launches to Zika, before moving to the news team during the summer of 2016 at the height of the presidential election and then running weekend coverage for 2 years. She's previously worked with the Politics, Military & Defense, and Video teams, and served as an editorial liaison with the product team that powers the CMS.She received her Master's degree from the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program at New York University, as well as a BS in Biology and a BA in Journalism from the University of Minnesota. Rebecca has also written for Popular ScienceScientific AmericanScienceline, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Minnesota Daily.ExpertiseBreaking news, legal analysis, criminal justice, police misconduct, public health, abortion, space, energy, visual features, extreme weather, White House history, voting rights, executive actionsPopular articlesJust don't call it 'climate change': What Republicans in Dallas can teach us about saving the planetWhat Buzz Aldrin was thinking when he left the moonHow the 25th Amendment works to remove a sitting presidentHurricane categories tell only part of the storyTRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS: Here's how they compare with Obama's, Bush's, and Clinton's