The United States rejoins the Paris Agreement on Biden’s first day
On 20 January 2021 President Biden signed an instrument accepting re-entry into the Paris Agreement and directed State to notify the depositary. In the causal graph this event strengthens Decarbonization and climate-mitigation policy, a driver that weakens Global CO2 emissions per capita — an improving welfare path.
Read the full account
On 20 January 2021 President Biden signed an instrument accepting re-entry into the Paris Agreement and directed State to notify the depositary.
Context
Trump had withdrawn. Neighbouring EO 14008 is 27 January. He did not rewrite other parties’ NDCs.
The 27 January lease pause is neighbouring. IRA 2022 is a later statute.
The President of the United States signs enrolled bills and is Commander in Chief. He does not write a Senate roll-call, a CBP sector tally, an IDF campaign, or a CBO score. A signature is not unique authorship of every title Congress enrolled. Drafting and floor votes remain with Congress. An archived White House (https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/ (opens in a new tab)) is the official carrier for this term; current whitehouse.gov is not this administration. Office-holding is not authorship of every later CPI print, encounter table, or foreign campaign.
Why it matters
The path is decarbonisation policy: a completed rejoin restores expected US NDC-and-finance participation, with depositary lag.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Joe Biden
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.8 · verified
He directed the acceptance. State notified the depositary. Other parties still set their own NDCs.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactThe United States rejoins the Paris Agreement on Biden’s first day
- strengthensDriverDecarbonization and climate-mitigation policy
- weakensIndicators (3)Global CO2 emissions per capita
impact weight 0.6 · Effect from 20 January 2021 · verified
A completed Paris rejoin restores expected US participation in the NDC-and-finance regime.
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.36 (weight 0.6 × strength 0.6)
Observed
4.73 tonnes CO2 per person per year · 2.43 above the normal line (2024)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 4.71 tonnes CO2 per person per year (2023) and 4.73 tonnes CO2 per person per year (2024).
20232024 Above normal = worse
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.3 (weight 0.6 × strength 0.5)
Observed
32.9 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted) · 27.9 above the normal line (2023)
Worse than normal3 readings, 2021–2023: fell from 33.2 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted) to 32.9 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted).
Above normal = worse
- Better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.24 (weight 0.6 × strength 0.4)
Observed
30% of electricity generation · 11 above the normal line (2023)
Better than normal6 readings, 2000–2023: rose from 18.9% of electricity generation to 30% of electricity generation.
Above normal = better
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.White House (archived) — Paris Climate Agreement: acceptance on behalf of the United States, 20 January 2021bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov · High credibility · verified
- 2.Reuters — Biden has US rejoin Paris climate agreementReuters · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
The White House carries the official instrument or communique. Reuters records the same dated act independently.
Established: 20 January 2021 Paris rejoin directive, independently reported.
Not established: a unique 2021 gigatonne coefficient from inauguration hour, or that other parties’ NDCs changed that afternoon.
State notified the depositary. Other parties still set their own NDCs.. A later repeal, court stay, or successor order would be a different Fact with a different date. That pair identifies The United States rejoins the Paris Agreement on Biden’s first day, not a later speech about The United States rejoins the Paris Agreement on Biden’s first day.
Co-authors and later implementers named in Context remain on the file. If a later repeal, stay, or successor instrument exists, it needs its own date and its own row. The contribution described on this Person row is limited to He directed the acceptance. State notified the depositary. Other parties still set their own NDCs. That limit is the alternative to treating office-holding as authorship of every later series.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorJoe Biden
- contributed toFactThe United States rejoins the Paris Agreement on Biden’s first day
- strengthensDriverDecarbonization and climate-mitigation policy
- weakensIndicatorGlobal CO2 emissions per capita
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). The United States rejoins the Paris Agreement on Biden’s first day. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/us-biden-paris-rejoin-2021
https://factrail.ai/facts/us-biden-paris-rejoin-2021
Accessed 15 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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