Trump rebuffed globally over quitting climate deal
2 Jun 2017 5:57 PM GMT
President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal calling it "draconian", triggering widespread condemnation at home
and abroad.
The announcement met the first backlash at home even before Trump ended his speech. California Governor Jerry Brown vowed the state "will resist this misguided and insane course of action".
Former President Barack Obama, who played a key role in negotiating the deal, accused Trump of "rejecting the future".
A total of 61 "Climate Mayors" representing 36 million Americans in cities including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles said they will adopt, honour and uphold the commitments to meet the goals of the Paris pact. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "deeply disappointed". French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni issued a joint statement saying the agreement cannot be "renegotiated since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economies".
British Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her dismay. Dutch Environment Minister Sharon Dijksma called the US decision "a historic mistake".
Miguel Arias Canete, the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, said: "The Paris Agreement will endure." Japan and Australia said they will keep backing the Paris deal. A UN spokeswoman said it was a "major disappointment for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote global security". Twenty-five major US firms including Apple, Google, Facebook, Gap, Microsoft and Unilever ran a full-page ad in Washington dailies to try convince Trump that sticking with the deal was better for the US economy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel today pledged "more decisive action than ever" to protect the climate after the US pullout from the landmark Paris accord. "We in Germany, in Europe and the world will band together to take more decisive action than ever to confront and successfully surmount major challenges to humanity such as climate change," she said. China on Friday vowed to uphold the Paris climate deal and asserted that it cannot be renegotiated as desired by President Donald Trump but expressed willingness to work with the US to push for low carbon emission mechanism globally.
Trump shouldn't be judged over Paris accord, says Putin
US President Donald Trump should not be judged for his decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. "I would refrain from judging President Trump right now because it was President (Barack) Obama who made the decision (on joining the Paris Agreement)," he said. "...Maybe the new President believes it was not well-conceived, maybe he thinks there are not enough resources... This situation needs to be thoroughly assessed," TASS quoted Putin as saying.
At the same time, the Russian President pointed out that "it was possible not to withdraw from the Paris agreement because it is a framework document so the US's obligations could have been changed." Putin said that Moscow wanted to wait before ratifying the Paris climate agreement till the participating countries set out clear-cut rules. "As far as I remember, the US has ratified the agreement, but we (Russia) have not done it yet," he said.
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