U.S. won’t commit to climate change accord,

U.S. reluctance to commit to Paris accord has Trump facing international heat

TAORMINA, ITALY— Seven wealthy democracies ended their summit Saturday in Italy without unanimous agreement on climate change, as the Trump administration plans to take more time to say whether the U.S. is going to remain in the Paris accord on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

The other six nations in the Group of Seven agreed to stick with their commitment to implement the 2015 Paris deal that aims to slow down global warming.

The final G7 statement, issued after two days of talks in the seaside town of Taormina, said the U.S. “is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics.”

Trump tweeted he would decide on Paris next week. The announcement on the final day of the U.S. president’s first international trip comes after he declined to commit to staying in the sweeping climate deal, resisting intense international pressure from his peers at the summit.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who chaired the meeting, said the other six “won’t change our position on climate change one millimetre. The U.S. hasn’t decided yet. I hope they decide in the right way.”

Gentiloni said climate was “not a minor point” and that he hoped the United States would decide “soon and well” because the Paris accords “need the contribution of the United States.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also chimed in on the climate issue, praising Trump’s “capacity to listen.”

Macron said he told Trump it is “indispensable for the reputation of the United States and the interest of the Americans themselves that the United States remain committed” to the Paris climate agreement.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more downbeat, calling the G7 climate talks “very difficult, if not to say, very unsatisfactory.”

The G7 leaders had better luck finding agreement on the other problematic topic at the summit, trade.

They restored a vow to fight protectionism — the use of import taxes and skewed regulations that favour domestic producers over their foreign competitors. The no-protectionism pledge had been a part of previous G7 statements but was omitted after a meeting of the group’s finance ministers earlier this month in Bari, Italy. This time the G7 leaders reiterated a “commitment to keep our markets open and to fight protectionism.”

The Trump administration has argued that trade must be balanced and fair as well as free. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has said the United States reserves the right to be protectionist if trade arrangements are unfair to U.S. companies and workers.

Trump’s position appeared to be addressed by new language that said the member countries would be “standing firm against all unfair trade practices.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went into the talks championing the benefits of free trade and action on climate change, as well as inclusive growth and gender equality, which are expected to be the main themes of the G7 summit that Canada is hosting in the Charlevoix region of Quebec next year.

Canada played a leadership role in pushing for the joint statement to include the language on fighting protectionism, the Paris agreement and, in particular, for the reference to gender equality being “fundamental to the fulfilment of human rights,” according to a federal government source.

The leaders also agreed on two other topics: closer co-operation against terrorism in the wake of the concert bombing in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people and on the possibility of putting more sanctions against Russia over its conflict with Ukraine if Russian behaviour requires that.

Alden Meyer, the director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group in Washington, said the discord over climate change was unusual for G7 meetings.

“There have been differences, to be sure, in some past summits, but not a sharp, open split like this,” he said.