G-20 Leaders Still Hopelessly Wish for Trump Turn-Around on Paris Agreement

A draft communique being circulated Friday among countries attending the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany says that the U.S. could still have a role in meeting the Paris climate change agreement despite President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the said global pact last month.

Reuters reported that a paragraph in the communique outlines a role for the U.S. in as far as working “closely with other partners to help their access to and use of fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently.”

Experts believe that it can not be denied that such clause is a nod to Washington’s policy positions under Trump, even as they may have some doubts whether such wording will survive in the final communique set to be released Saturday.

British Prime Minister Theresa May expressed hopes that President Trump can “find a way to come back “ into the global warming pact, just as the communique was being circulated.

May said: “I was clear to President Trump how disappointed the U.K. was that the United States had decided to pull out of the Paris Agreement and also clear that I hope that they will be able to find a way to come back into the Paris Agreement. “

The Paris climate change agreement is one of the top matters set for discussion at the G-20 summit.

But it’s highly unlikely that President Trump will be swayed to change his mind and position on the Paris Agreement as he declared the country’s withdrawal from the pact last month with so much conviction. He said then: “We’re getting out.”

Trump also added when he announced the U.S.’s withdrawal from the pact: “The Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States. At what point does America get demeaned? At what point do they start laughing at us as a country? We want fair treatment. We don’t want other countries and other leaders laughing at us anymore. “

Trump also said that he was fulfilling a campaign promise to withdraw from the Paris agreement, saying “I was elected by the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris. “

So the other leaders at the G-20 summit can still hope for a Trump and the U.S. turn-around, but they should know they are expecting at their own risk- of epic disappointment.

Source:

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/new-us-role-in-paris-climate-change-deal-floated-at-g-20/article/2628011