Biden Apologizes for Trump Admin Pulling Out of Paris Accords

President Joe Biden on Monday apologized for the U.S.' withdrawal from the Paris climate deal under former President Donald Trump.

"I guess I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact the United States in the last administration pulled out of the Paris accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit," Biden said while at the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, according to CNN.

Trump said in 2017, while officially announcing the U.S. withdrawal from the accords, that "the bottom line is that the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States," according to The Hill.

He also claimed that the deal "is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the exclusive benefit of other countries, leaving American workers — who I love — and taxpayers to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories, and vastly diminished economic production."

Biden rejoined the Paris accords just after he entered office last January. He added on Monday that the U.S. is committed to achieving the goals set out in the accords, which include lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

"The American people, four or five years ago, weren't at all sure about climate change, whether it was real," he continued. "Well, they have, as they say in southern parts of my state, 'seen the lord.' They've seen what's happened back home. The incredible changes that are taking place. And they're now finally ... seeing the sense of urgency that you all are."

He added that the U.S. is committed to achieving the goals set out in the accords, which include lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

"The United States, if I have anything to do with it, will do our part," Biden said. "Our success in my view hinges on our collective commitment to ramping up our momentum and strengthening our climate ambition."

Biden said earlier on Monday that "right now, we're still falling short. There's no time to hang back, sit on the fence or argue amongst ourselves. This is the challenge of our collective lifetime -- the existential threat to human existence as we know it. And every day we delay, the cost of inaction increases. So let this be the moment that we answer history's call here in Glasgow."

He went on to say that "the eyes of history upon us," before noting: "We only have a brief window before us to raise our ambitions and to raise to meet the task that's rapidly narrowing. This is a decisive decade in which we have an opportunity to prove ourselves."

Biden added, "We can keep the goal of limiting global warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius within our reach if we come together. If we commit to doing our part with each of our nations with determination and with ambition." 

The president also said that the Glasgow climate summit "must be the kickoff of a decade of ambition and innovation to preserve our shared future."

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