US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull America out of the Paris global climate accord has apparently left the United States isolated from major global powers.
United States’ European partners including Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Sweden are united in their expression of utter disappointment at the move by the American President. China and India have also expressed disappointment while Russia has pledged to remain part and parcel of the global agreement.
As it is ,the US is now one of only three countries in the world who do not subscribe to the global agreement which is aimed at limiting the emission of greenhouse gases which scientists say are contributing significantly to the depletion of the ozone layer. The other two countries are Syria and Nicaragua.
Even a direct appeal from the Vatican was not enough to persuade Trump who did little to quell the concerns of most world leaders as he argued that the same countries practically begging him to stay in the accord were in fact mocking the country’s participation.
“We don’t want other countries laughing at us anymore and they won’t. I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” Trump declared.
However, the European nations that pushed for Trump to stay in the deal appear to be in no mood to help him take credit for wishing to renegotiate and get a better deal.
On Thursday, European heavyweights, France, Germany and Italy said in a joint statement that they regretted the United States’ decision to withdraw from the accord and affirmed their strong commitment to implementing the accord’s measures and encouraging all their partners to speed up action in combating climate change.
Newly-elected French President, Emmanuel Macron was among the first world leaders who disagreed with Trump over his decision to pull out of a pact that is aimed at reducing green house gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent by the year 2025.
“To all scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, responsible citizens who were disappointed by the decision of the President of the United States, I want to say that they will find in France, a second homeland,” he said.
“Come and work here with us, to work together on concrete solutions for our climate, our environment. I can assure you, France will not give up the fight,” he added.
Following Macron’s statement, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel in a short statement to her parliament on Friday, said there was no turning back from the path that began with the 1997 Kyoto climate protocol and continued with the historic 2015 Paris deal.
“To everyone for whom the future of our planet is important I say let’s continue going down this path so we’re successful for our Mother Earth,” Merkel said amidst applause from the lawmakers.
The non-negotiative stance of Germany was underscored Friday, when the country’s Minister of Environment, Barbara Hendricks told reporters in Berlin that other countries were willing to fill the leadership vacuum left by the United States, adding that the global climate would survive Trump’s maximum presidential term of eight years.
While Trump said the US would be willing to rejoin the accord if it could obtain more favourable terms, the three European Leader insisted that the agreement cannot be renegotiated “since it is a vital instrument for our climate, societies and economics.”
Supporters of the Paris agreement which was painstakingly brokered under the Obama administration, argued that even if renegotiations were to be considered in the future, the damage to United States’ reputation had already been done.
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