This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/02/european-leaders-vow-to-keep-fighting-global-warming-despite-us-withdrawal

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 6 Version 7
EU to bypass Trump administration after Paris climate agreement pullout EU to bypass Trump administration after Paris climate agreement pullout
(about 4 hours later)
The European Union has rejected Donald Trump’s offer to renegotiate the Paris climate agreement and pledged instead to bypass Washington to work with US business leaders and state governors to implement the historic accord’s commitments.The European Union has rejected Donald Trump’s offer to renegotiate the Paris climate agreement and pledged instead to bypass Washington to work with US business leaders and state governors to implement the historic accord’s commitments.
Less than 24 hours after the US president announced his decision to withdraw from the 2015 agreement and strike a new, less ambitious deal with the world, Brussels declared its outright refusal to engage in such talks. Less than 24 hours after the US president announced his decision to withdraw from the 2015 agreement and strike a new, less ambitious deal with the rest of the world, Brussels declared its outright refusal to engage in such talks.
EU officials will instead cut out the White House to deal directly with the US states and major corporations, many of whom who have already pledged to live by the terms forged in Paris. EU officials will instead cut out the White House to deal directly with the US states and major corporations, many of whom have already pledged to live by the terms forged in Paris.
Miguel Arias Cañete, the European commissioner for climate action, said a global agreement should not be put at the whim of a domestic election. “The Paris agreement is fit for purpose,” the Spanish politician said, gripping a copy of the document that 195 countries have pledged to support. “The Paris agreement is here to stay. The 29 articles of this Paris agreement are not to be renegotiated. They are to be implemented. That’s what the EU will do.” In Britain, Theresa May faced criticism for not signing up to a joint declaration by Germany, France and Italy in opposition to the US move. A Downing Street source defended the prime minister, pointing out that other countries including Japan and Canada had not signed up to the letter either.
Cañete, who was speaking in Brussels after finalising a joint statement with China on accelerating efforts to reduce carbon emissions, said: “The world can continue to count on the EU on providing global leadership fighting climate change … We will do so developing strong partnerships. In 2015, nearly 200 countries agreed in Paris to curb greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent the runaway climate change that would occur should temperatures spiral 2C or more above the pre-industrial era.
“The fight against climate change cannot depend on the result of elections in one country of another. When a country signs an international agreement it has to fulfil its commitments. There will be new administrations. I’m pretty sure President Trump hasn’t read the articles of this treaty. There is nothing to renegotiate here.” In a worst case scenario, the US withdrawal could add 0.3C to global temperatures by the end of the century, the UN World Meteorological Organisation said.
Trump’s move has been met with a chorus of disapproval from global leaders and blue chip companies including Facebook, Apple, Ford and Microsoft. Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, described Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris pact as a big mistake, but said the fight against climate change would continue with or without the US.
A number of the governors of US states have vowed to ignore Washington. The mayor of Pittsburgh also fired back against Trump, who told reporters on Thursday: “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.” “Strong transatlantic ties are far more important and far more durable than the latest unfortunate decisions of the new administration,” Tusk said, as he addressed a joint press conference with the Chinese prime minister, Li Keqiang, at the end of an EU-China summit in Brussels.
“China and Europe have demonstrated solidarity with future generations and responsibility for the whole planet,” Tusk added, in reference to a joint EU-China statement that vowed to “step up” efforts on global warming, including the raising of $100bn a year by 2020 to help poorer countries cut emissions.
Li pointedly told reporters that China believed in abiding by international rules. “There have been changes in the international situation and there have been rising uncertainties and destabilising factors and in such circumstances it is important for China-EU relations to become more stable”, he said.
Miguel Arias Cañete, the European commissioner for climate action, said the global agreement would not be allowed to fall at the whim of a domestic election. “The Paris agreement is fit for purpose,” the Spanish politician said, gripping a copy of the document that 195 countries have pledged to support. “The Paris agreement is here to stay. The 29 articles of this Paris agreement are not to be renegotiated. They are to be implemented. That’s what the EU will do.”
He added: “The fight against climate change cannot depend on the result of elections in one country of another. When a country signs an international agreement it has to fulfil its commitments. There will be new administrations. I’m pretty sure President Trump hasn’t read the articles of this treaty. There is nothing to renegotiate here.”
Senior EU officials said they had been pleased by the reaction of the leaders of corporate America and the federal states, with whom they would now work, in a remarkable example of Trump’s isolation on the world stage.
The USpresident’s decision had been met with a chorus of disapproval from blue-chip companies including Facebook, Apple, Ford and Microsoft.
A number of the governors of US states have also vowed to ignore Washington. The mayor of Pittsburgh hit back against Trump, who had told reporters on Thursday: “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”
Bill Peduto wrote on Twitter: “Fact: Hillary Clinton received 80% of the vote in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh stands with the world and will follow Paris agreement. As the mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris agreement for our people, our economy and future.”Bill Peduto wrote on Twitter: “Fact: Hillary Clinton received 80% of the vote in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh stands with the world and will follow Paris agreement. As the mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris agreement for our people, our economy and future.”
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said Trump “can’t and won’t stop all those of us who feel obliged to protect the planet”. She said the move by the US to join just Nicaragua and Syria outside the accord was “extremely regrettable and that’s putting it very mildly”. Jeremy Corbyn accused May of a “dereliction of duty to our country and our planet” for failing to issue a stronger condemnation of Trump, after the PM expressed disappointment on Thursday. The Labour leader told an election rally in York: “Given the chance to present a united front with our international partners, she has instead opted for silence and subservience to Donald Trump.”
Li Keqiang, the Chinese premier, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, also spoke together on Friday morning of the importance of continued international cooperation to defeat global warming. The former Labour leader Ed Miliband told the BBC that May was being “weak and feeble and spineless” for not being willing to condemn the US president.
Merkel, speaking at a press conference in Berlin, said Germany would not sway from the goals set out in the Paris agreement. “Nothing can or will stop us,” she said. “The road - there’s no doubt about it - is stony, but I am also convinced of the fact we cannot retrace our steps.” A Downing Street spokesperson said Trump had called May to discuss the decision to withdraw and said the door remained open to future US involvement in the deal.
She there were many other partners willing to work together and was “enthused” by the response from US companies who were supportive of the deal. “We need this Paris agreement in order to save our creation,” she said. “She [May] said the Paris agreement provides the right global framework for protecting the prosperity and security of future generations, while keeping energy affordable and secure for our citizens and businesses,” the spokesperson said. “The president made clear that the door remains open to future US involvement in the agreement.”
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said in an unprecedented English-language speech from the Elysée Palace that he believed Trump had made a mistake. “I do respect this decision but I do think it is an actual mistake both for the US and for our planet. No other country is yet to show any sign that they intend to ape Trump’s decision to split from the pact, of which only Nicaragua and Syria stand outside. Vladimir Putin said in response to Trump’s announcement that he wanted to “refine” the agreement from within.
“Wherever we live, whoever we are, we all share the same responsibility: make our planet great again,” he said. Germany’s powerful car industry also claimed that Europe would need to reassess its environmental standards to remain competitive after the US withdrawal.
Downing Street issued a later statement saying the British prime minister, Theresa May, had told Trump of her “disappointment”. Downing Street sources would not say whether May had been asked to sign the declaration from the other European G7 countries. However, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, showed no signs that her resolve was weakening on the deal, insisting that Trump “can’t and won’t stop all those of us who feel obliged to protect the planet”.
The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, accused her of “subservience to Trump”. She added the move by the US was “extremely regrettable and that’s putting it very mildly”.
In an announcement made in the White House garden, Trump effectively took out the world’s second largest carbon emitter of greenhouse gases, from an accord that Barack Obama had described as a “major leap for mankind”, echoing Neil Armstrong’s words during the moon landing. Merkel, speaking at a press conference in Berlin, said Germany would not sway from the goals set out in the Paris agreement. “Nothing can or will stop us,” she said. “The road – there’s no doubt about it – is stony, but I am also convinced of the fact we cannot retrace our steps.”
Trump told reporters: “The fact that the Paris deal hamstrings the United States while empowering some of the world’s top polluting countries … That’s not going to happen while I’m president, I’m sorry.” She said there were many other partners willing to work together and was “enthused” by the response from US companies who were supportive of the deal. “We need this Paris agreement in order to save our creation,” she said.
Obama issued a rare statement saying the new administration had joined “a small handful of nations that reject the future”. He said that US 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”. India, despite facing the challenge of meeting the energy needs of millions of people who do not have electricity, firmly stood by the Paris agreement. The energy minister, Piyush Goyal, said: “India’s resolve to take up the leadership of saving the planet from climate change while others abrogate their leadership.”
Trump’s decision risks destabilising the Paris deal, with remaining participants faced with the choice of trying to make up the shortfall in emissions cuts or following the US’s lead and abandoning the agreement. In 2015, nearly 200 countries agreed to curb greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent the runaway climate change that would occur should temperatures spiral 2C or more above the pre-industrial era.
The US emissions reduction pledge accounts for a fifth of the global emissions to be avoided by 2030, with an analysis by not-for-profit group Climate Interactive showing that a regression to “business as usual” emissions by the US could warm the world by an additional 0.3C by 2100. This would help push global temperature rise well beyond 2C, causing punishing heatwaves, a rise in sea level, displacement of millions of people and the loss of ecosystems such as coral reefs.
Prof John Schellnhuber, a climate scientist and former adviser to the EU, Angela Merkel and the pope, said the US would be the loser from its withdrawal. “China and Europe have become world leaders on the path towards green development already and will strengthen their position if the US slips back. The Washington people around Trump fail to recognise that the climate wars are over, while the race for sustainable prosperity is on.”
Trump followed through with his campaign pledge to “cancel” US involvement in the Paris accord following months of conflicting signals over whether he would do so or just scale back the US ambition to cut emissions.
The withdrawal represents a victory for the nationalist elements in Trump’s administration, such as his strategist Steve Bannon, who have argued the Paris deal undermines an “America first” approach, harms domestic coal production and hinders efforts to repeal Barack Obama-era regulations such as the Clean Power Plan.
Trump sought to frame his decision as part of this nationalist agenda. “The Paris agreement handicaps the United States economy in order to win praise from the very foreign capitals and global activists that have long sought to gain wealth at our country’s expense,” he said. “They don’t put America first. I do, and I always will.”
The anti-agreement faction had jockeyed for Trump’s favour over a rival school of thought, including the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, and Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser, that argued the US should remain in the Paris deal in order to preserve its diplomatic influence.