Climate deal can't be renegotiated, European leaders say in swift rebuke to Trump

President Trump concludes his announcement to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement.

Los Angeles Times

Jun. 1, 2017 2:35 PM PT

World leaders closed ranks Thursday, vowing to press on with the fight against global warming, even as President Trump said he was pulling the United States out of a landmark climate agreement.

In a swift rebuke of Trump’s decision, the leaders of France, Germany and Italy issued a statement saying the accord reached after years of fraught negotiations was a “vital instrument for our planet” and they “firmly believe” it cannot be renegotiated, as the U.S. is now demanding.

“We are convinced that the implementation of the Paris agreement offers substantial economic opportunities for prosperity and growth in our countries and on a global scale,” French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni said in the statement. “Therefore we reaffirm our strongest commitment to swiftly implement the Paris agreement.”

Even before Trump announced his decision, nations big and small had re-stated their commitment to the so-called Paris agreement, in which they pledged to work together to reduce emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases and transition their economies to cleaner energy sources.

Former President Obama, who regards the global pact as a signature achievement of his administration, said those that chose to remain in the treaty would “reap the benefits in jobs and industries” that it creates.

Here’s more of what leaders are saying:

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni

“We deem the momentum generated in Paris in December 2015 irreversible and we firmly believe that the Paris agreement cannot be renegotiated, since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economies.”

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

“China will continue to uphold its commitments to the Paris climate agreement .… We realize that this is a global consensus agreement and that as a big developing nation we should shoulder our international responsibility.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

“We do not have the right to spoil the environment for future generations .... That is, morally speaking, a crime on our part.”

Former President Barack Obama

President Obama at the White House in 2015.

“Simply put, the private sector already chose a low-carbon future. And for the nations that committed themselves to that future, the Paris agreement opened the floodgates for businesses, scientists and engineers to unleash high-tech, low-carbon investment and innovation on an unprecedented scale.

“The nations that remain in the Paris agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created. I believe the United States of America should be at the front of the pack. But even in the absence of American leadership, even as this administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future, I’m confident that our states, cities and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got.”