Syria signs Paris climate agreement and leaves US isolated
November 07, 2017  22:30
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Syria has decided to sign the Paris agreement on climate change, the worlds final functioning state to do so. The surprise decision, taken amid a brutal civil war in the country, will leave the US as the only country outside the agreement if it follows through on US President Donald Trumps vow to leave.

The landmark 2015 agreement requires global governments to limit temperature rises to no more than 2C, which scientists say is the threshold of safety, beyond which the ravages of global warming are likely to become catastrophic and irreversible.

Although Trump pledged this summer to withdraw, under the UNs legal processes this cannot happen until 2020. The prospective date for US withdrawal falls on the day after the presidential election that year. Until then, the US remains a participant in the accord.
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