Biden's return to Paris pact just a first step for US climate action

U.S. President Joe Biden signs executive orders inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2021 - Reuters

As Joe Biden led the United States back into the Paris Agreement on climate change, after taking office Wednesday, diplomats and green groups breathed a collective sigh of relief - before urging him to step up cuts to U.S. emissions.

Soon after his inauguration, Biden signed an executive action, among others, to begin rejoining the 2015 climate pact, reversing a decision by climate-change skeptic Donald Trump.