World leaders reacted with anger and defiance after US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the US, the world's second biggest carbon emitter, was quitting the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a rare joint statement the agreement could not be renegotiated and urged their allies to hasten efforts to combat climate change. They pledged to do more to help developing countries adapt.
"We note the United States' decision with regret," they said, describing the carbon-curbing accord as "a vital tool for our planet, our societies and our economies."
"We are firmly convinced that the agreement cannot be renegotiated," they added, referring to Trump's announcement that Washington was open to negotiating a new agreement.
The Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Emmanuel Macron talk during the Outreach session at Taormina, Italy, May 27, 2017. /VCG Photo
Japan's foreign ministry called the announcement "regrettable" and promised to push on with tackling climate change.
"While the US decision is disheartening, we remain inspired by the growing momentum around the world to combat climate change and transition to clean growth economies," said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Mexican ministers said the world had a "moral imperative" to live up to the commitments made in the Paris climate pact, while Brazil's foreign ministry said it was concerned and disappointed by Washington's move.
Protesters hold up signs during a demonstration in front of the White House, June 1, 2017. /VCG Photo
Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, who will serve as president of UN climate talks in Germany later this year, also labelled Trump's announcement "deeply disappointing."
The spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the action a "major disappointment." The UN body that handles climate negotiations said the accord could not be renegotiated based on the request of a single nation.
With Trump's action, the US will walk away from nearly every other nation in the world on one of the pressing global issues of the 21st century. Syria and Nicaragua are the only other non-participants in the accord.
The US was one of 195 nations that agreed to the accord in Paris in December 2015. Under the pact, which was years in the making, countries both rich and poor committed to reducing emissions of so-called greenhouse gases generated by burning fossils fuels and blamed by scientists for warming the planet.
Former US president Barack Obama expressed regret over the pullout from a deal he was instrumental in brokering.
"But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got," Obama added.
(Source: Reuters, AFP)
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