US Gov't Breaks Record in Expanding Protection Over Public Land - Obama

The current US administration has protected a larger area of public land than any administration in the country’s history, President Barack Obama told an environmental gathering at Lake Tahoe in the state of Nevada.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — In 2015, representatives from 146 nations signed the Paris climate agreeing, aiming to limit global average temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by reducing emissions.

The United States, which is responsible for almost 18 percent of emissions, according to the deal, signed the agreement but has yet to ratify it. The agreement will be open for signature until April 21, 2017.

“We protected more acres of public land and water than any administration in history,” Obama said at the 20th Lake Tahoe Summit on Wednesday. “Last week alone we protected wildlife and water from Maine to Hawaii.”

Obama pledged to further increase US federal government efforts to protect the environment and combat climate change.

“For 14 months in a row the Earth has broken global temperature records…The [current US] drought…endangers one of the world's centers of food production in California.”