January 21, 2021: Hours after he was sworn in, US President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that the United States plans to re-enter the Paris climate accord, the landmark international agreement signed in 2015 to limit global warming.

The United States under the Trump administration had abandoned the agreement late last year. President Joe Biden signed an executive order to rejoin the US into the Paris climate agreement on Wednesday, CNN reported.

"We are going to combat climate change in a way we have not done so far," Biden said.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris on December 12, 2015, and entered into force on November 4, 2016. It aims to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

Biden's action on Paris sends a strong message that the US is prepared to cooperate in the fight against climate change and to reclaim the leadership role it once held, experts say.

Biden signed first executive actions, hours after he was sworn-in as 46th commander-in-chief.

The executive actions are among 17 items that Biden is signing on Wednesday, CNN reported

"This is going to be the first of many engagements we are going to have in here," Biden told reporters, appearing for the first time in the Oval Office. "I thought with the state of the nation today there's no time to waste. Get to work immediately," he said

Biden signed an order requiring masks on federal property, one meant to ensure racial equality and another rejoining the Paris climate accord. He said they would be the first of many during his first days in office.

"As we indicated earlier we are going to be signing a number of executive orders over the next several days to a week," he said.

"Some of the executive actions that I am going to be signing today are going to help change the course of the Covid crisis and combat climate change in ways we haven't done so far," the newly-minted President added.

He called the moves "starting points" that fulfilled his promises during the election campaign.

On Wednesday, Biden is also expected to sign an order reversing Trump's effort to withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the midst of the pandemic. He is also reversing Trump's travel ban on majority-Muslim nations, The Hill reported.

In total, Biden is expected to sign 53 executive actions over the next 10 days across the areas of climate, the economy, healthcare and immigration, according to a document outlining a schedule for his forthcoming moves that was obtained by The Hill.