The US has returned to the Paris Agreement. What does this mean for climate change?

Within hours of becoming president, Joe Biden has moved to recommit the United States to the Paris Agreement — the internationally binding treaty to combat climate change.

In 2020, the US became the first country to withdraw formally from the Paris deal, despite being the world’s second largest producer of greenhouse gases behind China.

When former President Donald Trump signalled his intent to withdraw the US from the agreement back in 2017, he said he’d pursue a new deal that “protects our environment, our companies, our citizens and our country”.

Now the US now looks set to return to the climate agreement after a 30-day notice period, and is expected to resubmit an emissions reduction target for 2030.

So what does this actually mean…