Professor Alan Dangour, Director of LSHTM’s Centre on Climate Change & Planetary Health, said:

“By bringing the USA back into the Paris Climate Agreement on his first day in office, President Biden has taken a critical step to help the world avert dangerous levels of climate change. The USA and China are the world’s leading economies and the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Strong commitments from both nations to tackle climate change provides renewed hope that our global leaders can work together on sustainable pathways for the future.

“The theme of President Biden’s inaugural address was unity, and there can be few actions that require greater global unity than our actions to protect the health of people and the planet.“