G20 Hamburg: Leaders fail to bridge Trump climate chasm
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
-
Leaders of 19 nations at the G20
summit in Germany have renewed their pledge to implement the Paris deal
on climate change, despite the US pulling out.
Deadlock over the issue had held up the last day of talks in Hamburg but a final agreement was eventually reached.
It
acknowledges President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate
agreement without undermining the commitment of other countries.
The compromise comes after violent protests in the host city.
The joint summit statement released on Saturday said: "We take note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris Agreement."
However, the leaders of the other G20 members agreed the accord was "irreversible".
The
statement also said the US would "endeavour to work closely with other
countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and
efficiently".
Mr Trump has pledged to help the US coal industry
make a comeback and has previously characterised the Paris agreement as
aiming to disadvantage his country's workers.
In a news conference as the two-day summit drew to a close,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she still deplored Mr Trump's
position on the Paris accord but she was "gratified" the other 19
nations opposed its renegotiation.
As well as insisting on the
inclusion of separate America-only paragraphs in the final text, Mr
Trump cancelled his own scheduled news conference on Saturday,
reinforcing the image of the G20 as the G19 + 1, reports the BBC's
diplomatic correspondent James Robbins.
It has been divisive
summit in which the rest of the world has been struggling to come to
terms with the US president's "America first" policy, our correspondent
says.
Where do we go from here?
"I
think it's very clear that we could not reach consensus, but the
differences were not papered over, they were clearly stated," Mrs Merkel
told reporters.
She said she did not share the view of UK Prime
Minister Theresa May that Washington could decide to return to the
climate agreement.
But Mrs May reiterated her belief that the US could rejoin the accord in her news conference on Saturday.
Media captionPresident Vladimir Putin: 'TV Trump is different than real Trump'And French President Emmanuel Macron also remained hopeful
of persuading Mr Trump to change his mind, saying: "I never despair of
convincing him because I think it's my duty."
He announced that
Paris would host another summit on 12 December to make further progress
on the climate agreement and to address financing.
Why the street battles in Hamburg?
There have been large protests in the city, with demonstrators and armed police clashing into the early hours of Saturday.
Demonstrators
- who were protesting against the presence of Mr Trump and Mr Putin,
climate change and global wealth inequalities - set fire to vehicles and
barricades, threw rocks at officers and looted shops.
Media captionPolice fired water cannon as anti-G20 protesters lit firesAt one point, police chased protesters across rooftops while officers on the streets used water cannon on protesters.
Nearly 200 police officers were injured during the protests. Dozens of protesters have been detained.
President Trump met Prime Minister May on the sidelines of the summit on Saturday and said a US-UK trade deal would be signed soon.
He also confirmed he would visit the UK, but said the details had still to be worked out.
On Friday, the US president used his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 to discuss the alleged Russian hacking of last year's US presidential election.
President
Putin said on Saturday he believed President Trump had accepted his
assurances that Moscow had not interfered in the vote.
He said he
had established a working relationship with his US counterpart and a
ceasefire in southern Syria - agreed between the US, Russia and Jordan
on Friday - was a result of America becoming more pragmatic.
Media captionWho had the dominant handshake and who couldn't maintain eye c
Opobo: Land of the ‘great’ King Jaja where making noise at night is forbidden Boasting of a rich past and an interesting culture, Opobo, homeland of legendary merchant trader, King Jaja, is a place where taboos soar above several other things, writes ERIC DUMO The sight of eye-catching multi-storey buildings greet you as you make your way into Opobo town. Whether you decide to come in through the community’s vast but dilapidated jetty or through its newest entry point at the other end, courtesy of an ongoing road project linking the ancient kingdom to the outside world through Nkoror, its nearest neighbours by land, the sight is the same – beautiful structures squeezed into every available space welcomes you into the town. Until recently when vehicles and motorcycles could go into Opobo from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, or other parts of the country through Bori in Ogoniland and navigating through Nkoror before getting to the community, residents and visitors had to rely on speed boats...
Aliko Dangote, Nigeria's and Africa's richest man gained $5.8bn in one day and his total net worth rose to $16.6bn on Tuesday, making him the world’s 64th richest person. Dangote's wealth fell from $10.5bn at the end of last year to a low of $9.63bn on January 1, 2019, but it grew to $10.8bn on Monday, February 25 as confirmed in a report by Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. However the net worth of Dangote increased by 23 per cent from $13.5bn on February 26, 2018, to $16.6bn, as he gained $5.8bn in one day, emerging 64th richest person in the world. While he is the only Nigerian on the list of 500 billionaires and also retained his position as Africa’s richest person, it should also be noted that his wealth rise by 58 per cent so far this year, emerged the second biggest mover after Andrew Forrest, founder and largest shareholder of Fortescue Metals Group, the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer. Forres...
Comments
Post a Comment