The Paris climate agreement is “irreversible and non-negotiable,” Chancellor Angela Merkel told the German Bundestag on Thursday, a week ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg.
The European Union’s remaining 27 members have expressed their “unequivocal” commitment to the plan to halt climate change despite the United States’ decision to leave, Merkel told the Bundestag.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on June 1 that his country would cease participation in the 2015 agreement.
Merkel is hosting the G20 summit on July 7 and July 8, which will bring together leaders including Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
NAN reports that the agreement for environmental action was signed by 195 nations.
The Paris agreement was intended to bind the world community into battling rising temperatures in concert, and the departure of the Earth’s second-largest polluter is a major blow.
Under the accord, the U.S. had pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2025 and commit up to three billion dollars in aid for poorer countries by 2020. (NAN)