President Donald Trump let a big one rip yesterday when he announced that the United States will be withdrawing from the from the Paris Climate Change Agreement. He put himself right behind George W Bush as the second American President to retract America’s commitment to a Climate Agreement (President Bush withdrew from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on the 11th of June, 2001).

But what is it about the Paris Agreement that makes it so repulsive to the POTUS -or so amazing that 148 countries have already ratified it?

Here are 5 important things you should know about the Agreement:

1. It was adopted in 2015

The agreement was jointly agreed on by 195 countries who are members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at 21st Conference of the Convention in Paris and adopted by consensus on 12th December 2015. 

2. It hopes to keep emission levels below 2 degrees Celsius

The central theme of the Paris Agreement is the goal of keeping keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. Each country that is a signatory to it made varying pledges on how it will keep global greenhouse gas emissions down in spite of industrial drive.

3. It is voluntary

The Accord prescribes no punishments for breaking the agreements made in it. All the countries that signed it have committed to is their own individual pledges as well as the general framework that will guide them in the process of achieving the goal of the Agreement.

4. Nigeria is a signatory to the Agreement

President Muhammadu Buhari was at the December 2015 conference and he made a case for the more developed countries to help us out with our pledges while showing a great deal of commitment to the Accord. Nigeria has now joined the over 140 countries that have ratified the instrument. President Buhari signed the ratification instrument in March 2017 and the Agreement is expected to take effect here on the 15th June 2o17.

5. The Robin Hood-like aid system

The Agreement places obligations on rich and industrialised to help out poorer nations. The rationale is that while the former have already benefitted from the endangering use of fossil fuels while they were in the process of getting developed, the poorer countries who sign on to this Agreement will have a harder time advancing their own development on tight eco-friendly leashes. As such, richer countries are to start spending $100 billion a year in aid by 2020 to the poorer countries. And that amount is set to increase over time. Again, like the other provisions of the agreement, this isn’t an absolute mandate.