G20 leaders’ statement on climate change highlights rift with US. Joint statement points to US decision to withdraw from Paris agreement while other G20 countries see accord as ‘irreversible’
World leaders have made clear the US’s isolated stance on climate change, with 19 of the G20 countries affirming their commitment to the “irreversible” Paris climate agreement.
After lengthy negotiations that stretched well into Saturday, the final joint statement from the meeting in Hamburg notes Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris deal while stating that the world’s other major economies all still support the international effort to slow dangerous global warming.
German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said on Saturday she “deplored” the US exit from the agreement and added that she did not share the view of Theresa May, the British prime minister, that Washington could decide to rejoin the pact.
“I think it’s very clear that we could not reach consensus, but the differences were not papered over, they were clearly stated,” Merkel told reporters at the end of the two-day meeting. “It’s absolutely clear it is not a common position.”
The communique reads: “We take note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris agreement,” adding: “The leaders of the other G20 members state that the Paris agreement is irreversible” and “we reaffirm our strong commitment to the Paris agreement”.
The US did successfully manage to insert text referencing fossil fuels which read: “The United States of America states it will endeavour to work closely with other countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently.”
World leaders meeting in Hamburg managed to agree almost every aspect of the statement, including the potentially contentious issue of trade, but the final text was held up by the US’s contrarian approach to climate change.
In June, Trump, who has enthusiastically touted coal and oil extraction, announced his country’s exit from the Paris agreement, which aims to avoid dangerous global warming of more than 2C compared to the pre-industrial period.
The strongest proponents of the climate deal, including Merkel and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, have attempted to shore up support for the Paris deal among countries following Trump’s decision to exit the agreement. Saudi Arabia and Indonesia were reportedly considering watering down their commitment to the deal but they ended up reiterating their support at the G20 summit.
The final communique was accompanied by an agreed climate and energy plan that supports the key planks of the Paris agreement and sets goals to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and shift countries towards “affordable, reliable, sustainable and low greenhouse gas emission energy systems as soon as feasible”.
A lengthy notice period means that the US withdrawal from the Paris agreement will not take place until November 2020. The US will become the only country in the world not signed up to the landmark 2015 deal other than Nicaragua, which complained that it wasn’t strong enough, and Syria, currently mired in a bloody civil war. (full story the Guardian)
It looks like a group photo of the local Geriatrics Club – not one of them looks “SPECIAL” or exceptionally BEAUTIFUL in any way – they are just a bunch of OLD people who should have been forced to retire at the age of 60 years.
We have senile & demented men & women – who are still afraid of their computers & mobile phones running the world – OLD PEOPLE who belong in a retirement village.
And including Australia’s failed Prime Minister – Our Malcolm Turnbull – who we would vote out of office tomorrow if he dared to hold an election.
I read an article about Christine Lagarde in FORBES – they commented positively on her CONTINUOUS – NATURAL – TAN – which is sprayed on with an air gun every week or two at the salon she attends in Paris.
Fake News man.
The ‘Paris Agreement’ is dad in the water. No country can afford to keep pouring endless amounts of money into the ‘Renewable’ scam, as if anyone believes spending billions is going to make a discernable difference to the global temperature. It’s nothing but virtue signalling to believe we can change the climate.