Trump, former vice-president meet to discuss climate policy

US president-elect Donald Trump, a hardcore climate change sceptic, had a lengthy meeting on Monday with former vice-president Al Gore, a leading campaigner on the issue, showing flexibility that has surprised even his harshest critics.

Trump is among those, specially on the right in American politics, who believe climate change is a hoax, and for the president-elect, played by the Chinese. He railed against it on the campaign trail, blaming regulations for killing the economy.

He has been far more accommodating since his election. He has said he is willing to take another look at the Paris Accord, which he had promised to tear up first thing in office, not even renegotiate it, but pull the US out of it completely.

As a major signatory of the Paris Accord, which it ratified in October, India will be watching whether Trump’s evolution on climate change goes beyond words. India co-launched a global solar power initiative at the signing, with France.

After the meeting at Trump Tower, Gore told reporters, “I had a lengthy and very productive session with the president-elect. It was a sincere search for areas of common ground. I had a meeting beforehand with Ivanka Trump.

“The bulk of the time was with the president-elect, Donald Trump. I found it an extremely interesting conversation, and to be continued, and I'm just going to leave it at that.” The operative part of the remarks: talks “to be continued”.

The fact that Trump met Gore was welcomed by his critics, such as Tony Schwartz, who co-authored Trump’s “The art of the deal” and has been an unrelenting critic since. He told a TV interviewer he felt encouraged.