Allies urge Trump to keep U.S. in Paris pact
World leaders at the Group of 7 summit intensify their pressure on President Donald Trump to keep the United States in the Paris climate agreement.
TAORMINA, Sicily — World leaders on Friday intensified their pressure on President Donald Trump to keep the United States in the Paris climate agreement, as negotiators for seven Western powers labored to bridge differences between Trump and his counterparts before they depart Saturday.
Faced with repeated pleas by allies during private meetings at this twoday summit meeting of the Group of 7 countries, Trump remained unyielding in his assertion that the United States would do whatever is best for the United States — including the possibility of withdrawing from the 2015 pact signed with 195 nations, aides said.
Trump’s message on the environment to the leaders Friday made clear which option would win if the United States must choose between its economic wellbeing or staying in the Paris climate agreement.
“If those things collide, growing our economy is going to win,” said Gary Cohn, the president’s economics adviser, who was at the Italy summit meeting.
President skeptical
The exit of the world’s largest economy and second-largest greenhouse gas polluter from the Paris accord would profoundly weaken the effort to curb climate change. It also could spur other countries to withdraw, or to simply weaken their own commitments to cutting planet-warming pollution.
But even as the leaders themselves mounted a concerted campaign to persuade a skeptical U.S. president to stay, negotiators for the seven nations who gathered at the Hotel San Domenico sought to reach agreement on a joint statement that might pave the way for a decision by Trump in the days to come.
U.S. officials were pushing for an acknowledgment that if the United States stayed in the Paris agreement it would be allowed to lower the emission-reduction targets the Obama administration had signed on to, according to people briefed on the negotiations. U.S. officials argued that those targets would harm the U.S. economy.
Aides to Trump also were pressing for language in the statement that would reassure U.S. coal producers. The other leaders confronted Trump on climate change as soon as he arrived in Europe. White House officials said Emmanuel Macron, the French president, brought the subject up during NATO meetings in Brussels, as did Charles Michel, the Belgian prime minister.
The lobbying continued throughout the day Friday.
During one extended discussion, Trump listened to the pleas of the other leaders, White House officials said, but reiterated that the environment and jobs were both important to him. He talked about environmental awards he had received and declined to say when he would make a decision on the Paris agreement.
“I want to get to the right decision,” Trump told the group, according to Cohn.
‘Ganging up’
The other leaders were said to be wary of how they spoke to the U.S. president, concerned that they could anger him easily, which could result in his deciding to pull the United States out of the Paris agreement.
“They are all trying to figure out how do you offer convincing arguments to Trump without him feeling that you are ganging up on him,” said Alden Meyer, the director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group.