Celebrating the U.S. Return to the Paris Climate Agreement

On February 19, the United States officially became part of the Paris Agreement on climate change again, flowing from actions President Biden set in motion on his first day in office. President Trump announced he would remove the U.S. from the Agreement in 2017 and formally notified the United Nations of this decision in 2019.

During the years when national involvement was wavering or absent, Winrock kept the faith, attending annual Conference of the Parties meetings,  publicly proclaiming our willingness to remain true to the Paris Agreement and even exclaiming “we are still in.”

But it is through our work that Winrock has most clearly exemplified our commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement. We have decades of experience in carbon capture, clean energy, ecosystem services, forestry and resilient agriculture in the U.S. and around the world.

We are a global leader in mitigation activities, applying scientific rigor to carbon emission measurement and removals that support policy development and advance U.S. Sustainable Development Goals. On the adaptation side, we strengthen climate resilience through coastal management activities, adaptative technologies and other initiatives — as well as design innovative climate finance programs that incentivize private-sector investment in national development plans, mobilizing millions for climate-resilient economic growth. Winrock takes a holistic approach to climate change, addressing impacts and their underlying drivers.

Just this year, Winrock has announced the new Offset National Emissions through Sustainable Landscapes (ONE-SL) project, which marks a paradigm shift for Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) work. Our Ecosystem Services team was featured in a recent issue of the journal Forests. And Architecture for REDD+ (ART), for which Winrock serves as secretariat, just announced the stakeholder consultation period for version 2.0 of its The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES).

Look for regular climate change content this year as Winrock continues to showcase its work and embrace the new era that has dawned for the U.S., as it joins with almost 200 other nations to combat climate change.