03 June, 2017
"America is no longer the leader of the free world, America is the shamed, the most shamed country in the free world".
Pacific Islands at risk of being swallowed by rising seas accused Washington of "abandoning" vulnerable nations and expressed dismay Friday after Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate deal.
"The decision of the U.S.to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement is very regrettable, and I'm expressing myself in a very reserved way when I say that", she said, adding that the deal was needed to protect the environment.
He said he was shocked by Trump's announcement.
It also goes against pressure to remain a part of the agreement, which 195 nations are signed onto. On Thursday, Trump complained that countries such as China and India get special dispensations for certain kinds of pollution under the agreement, while the United States is unfairly burdened by aggressive emission-restriction targets.
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso drew parallels to the USA setting up a plan to establish the League of Nations after World War I, only to back out later.
Referring to Mr Trump's idea of redrawing the 2015 accord, he said, in the French version, "we will not in any way renegotiate an agreement that is less ambitious" than the present one. Worldwide leaders reacted with disappointment and anger.
"Pulling out of the Paris Agreement would mean that with 5 per cent of the world population, the United States will continue to jeopardise the remaining 95 per cent. Countries need to hold the USA accountable for decisions that have a global impact", Narain said. "I'm very disappointed. I am angry", Japanese Environment Minister Koichi Yamamoto told a news conference on Friday in an unusually frank tone. The researchers found that developed countries had already, as of 2009, emitted far more than this budget. "A risky world", he said.
"Considering that the U.S.is the world's second largest emitter of carbon dioxide, its departure could jeopardize the agreement as a whole".
The reaction comes as the European Union and China moved Friday to fill the leadership void on the Paris climate pact after President Donald Trump pulled the USA out of the deal, triggering a furious global backlash. Sea levels rising, drowning coastal areas. "We're getting out", Trump said at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden under sunny skies on a warm June day.
"It is time to put Youngstown, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, along with many, many, other locations within our great country, before Paris, France", Trump said.
In New York, some major buildings, like the World Trade Center and City Hall, were lit green in solidarity with the climate agreement, echoing a move in Paris.
Anticipating a possible USA pullout, officials from China and the European Union - two of the world's major polluters - had prepared a declaration reaffirming their commitment to the 2015 Paris Agreement, which is widely considered a landmark deal for bringing together nearly all countries under a common goal.
In a phone call with the U.S. president shortly after his White House announcement, Mrs May expressed her "disappointment" at the move and stressed the United Kingdom remains committed to the landmark 2015 agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.S. president had "committed an error for the interests of his country, his people and a mistake for the future of our planet", Macron said in Paris on Thursday, according to Reuters. The White House said it would stick to United Nations rules for withdrawing from the pact. Calculations suggest withdrawal could release up to 3 billion additional tons of carbon dioxide a year enough to melt ice sheets faster, raise seas higher and trigger more extreme weather. That country must then wait another year.
"However, we believe that the positive trends in the decline of prices of renewable energy and energy efficiency will continue to drive global action to ensure that global temperature rise remains well below 2 °C", he said. "Climate change is real". General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt said he was disappointed, adding: "Climate change is real". Republican U.S. congressional leaders backed Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell applauded Trump "for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration's assault on domestic energy production and jobs".
The PM has told the USA president of her "disappointment" at the move.
Dozens of USA cities and states insist they'll continue to reduce emissions.
In reality, China is aware that it emits the maximum amount of greenhouse gas and is taking necessary steps to curb emissions. The world can continue to count on Europe for global leadership in the fight against climate change.
