02 June, 2017
Fijian Prime Minister and incoming COP23 president Frank Bainimarama has expressed his disappointment in President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Mr Trump said America would pull out of the Paris agreement on grounds that remaining in it would hurt the United States economy and weaken USA sovereignty.
Trump said yesterday (June 1): "Even if the Paris Agreement were implemented in full, with total compliance from all nations, it is estimated it would only produce a 2/10 of one degree - think of that".
Speaking to European business leaders alongside Li, Juncker said EU-China ties are underpinned by "a rules-based worldwide system".
Merkel, whose country hosts this year's worldwide climate summit, said Trump's decision was "extremely regrettable and that's putting it very mildly".
"Because this is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do, and those that will be betting on the implementation of the Paris Agreement, on the green economy, will be the ones that have a leading role in the economy of the 21st century", he said. Trump declared Thursday he was pulling the.
At their short summit, the European Union and China - two of the world's major polluters - are set to reaffirm their stance on global warming.
Led by Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron, they have branded Trump's decision as misguided and vowed to defend an accord they consider crucial to the future of the planet.
Other Pacific Island states and territories expressed dismay at Mr Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris accord, which he has long said was a dumb deal that put the U.S. at a disadvantage. "This administration is abdicating its leadership and taking a backseat to other countries in the global fight against climate change".
Small island nations like those in the South Pacific are on the frontline of climate change, susceptible to more frequent extreme weather events like cyclones, and in danger of being swamped by rising sea levels as polar ice caps melt.
She added that the global climate would "survive" Trump's maximum presidential term of eight years.
Hendricks said the absence of $500 million contributions from the United States to the Green Climate Fund will be felt from 2018, but suggested the gap could be filled with "other financing mechanisms, for example through the World Bank".
