Merkel Furious With Trump After “Unprecedented” G-7 Failure To Reach Consensus On Climate Change
In the end it was not mean to be. As discussed on Friday, during Trump’s first G-7 summit, world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and new French President Emmanuel Macron, had hoped to persuade the the US president to endorse the Paris Agreement climate pledge to fight global warming. By the end of the summit – held at a luxury hotel in Taormina, Sicily that was once a Dominican monastery and base for the Nazi air force during World War Two – they realized they had failed, as Trump “underscored his determination to break the global mold” by refusing to follow the Group of Seven line not only on global warming but also by resisting measures on trade.
Furthermore, in what was described as an “unprecedented step“, the final G-7 communique gave the U.S. its own section to say that it is “undergoing a review process” and is unable to join in the discussion, an official cited by Bloomberg said. As a result while the US will remain excluded from the final affirmation, the other six, call it the G-6, will recommit to the Paris Agreement on climate change, which Trump tweeted Saturday he’d come to a decision on next week.
Needless to say, Merkel who had hoped to leave the Saturday summit with the G-7 agenda endorsed by everyone, including Trump, was furious at the US president.
“The whole discussion about climate has been difficult, or rather very unsatisfactory” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters Saturday. “Here we have the situation that six members, or even seven if you want to add the EU, stand against one. That means there are no signals until now whether the U.S. will remain in the Paris Agreement or not.
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