UN wonders whether US will exit Paris climate deal

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‍There was shock and dismay at the United Nations when President Donald Trump announced he was withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement, but months later at the General Assembly there’s a feeling that all may not be lost.

The annual UN General Assembly hosts leaders from almost 200 countries and territories, with all but three backing the climate deal, with the largest dissenter being the United States.

In late spring, when the US announced its withdrawal from the historic pact, reaction at the UN came from the very top.

A woman displays a placard during a demonstration in New York on June 1, 2017, to protest US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the 195-nation Paris climate accord deal. /AFP Photo

“The Secretary General has made it clear once more that he underscores the need for all countries to play their part,” a spokesperson from the Secretary General's office told reporters.

Outside the UN building, there was an air of incredulity among passersby that the agreement appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

“I think if you’re the president of the United States you have to think not just domestically, but with our affairs with other countries,” one pedestrian said.

Climate change threatens a number of countries across the globe. One of those is the island nation of Fiji, an archipelago of 300 islands in the South Pacific, which fears for its future.

Climate change is nothing new for people there.

“We have felt it. Fifty years ago we have been telling the world about the problems of the Pacific countries,” said Minister of Fisheries, Semi Koroilavesau.

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“There are a lot of islands that are basically coral islands. They’re sinking. A lot of villages are disappearing from the surface of the earth, so we’re very aware of the issues of climate change,” he added.

President Trump’s view is that the previous administration under Barack Obama was tricked by other nations into spending too much US money and relinquishing too much control in the Paris Accord.

The Marshall Islands, also a Pacific island nation, suggests work will go on to make the Paris Accord work, with or without the US.

“Our children deserve a future. We owe it to them and the wider Pacific to keep Paris alive,” Amatlain Elizabeth Kabua, the country’s ambassador to the UN, said.

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In the small Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles, fishing and tourism dominate the economy and climate change is now affecting both.

Ronald Jumeau, the Seychelles’ ambassador to the UN, said rising sea-levels and sea temperatures, plus drought and water security have hit small island states hard.

The US pulling out of the Paris Accord opens the door for others to step up, he said.

“What the Trump administration withdrawal from the Paris Agreement has done, it’s opened the door wide for China and India, working with Europe and hopefully Canada, to take over climate change leadership,” Jumeau explained.

“That is very important. Not just because of climate. There are economic reasons, trade reasons and commercial reasons.”

CGTN Photo

The delegations of 175 countries gathered at the UN headquarters in New York City Friday, Earth Day, to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Months after the US announced its departure, officials have said pulling out of the deal will take at least four years.

There could be a new administration in Washington by then, or the US might have a change of heart and seek to regain a place at the head of the climate change table.

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