World leaders condemn Trump’s decision to withdraw from Paris climate accord

Leaders worldwide condemned US President Donald Trump’s Thursday announcement that his country would withdraw from the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change.

“We’re getting out,” Trump said at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, in which he decried the Paris Accord’s “draconian” financial and economic burdens. “But we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair. And if we can, that’s great.”

In his speech, Trump listed sectors of the national economy that would lose revenue and 2.7 million jobs by 2025 in total if the country remained part of the agreement. However, the study on which these assessments are based have been disputed by environmental activists.

“The Paris climate accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States, to the exclusive benefit of other countries, leaving American workers, who I love, and taxpayers to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories and vastly diminished economic production,” he said.

He added that the United States would also stop its contributions to the United Nations Green Climate Fund, on which his country was shelling out a “vast fortune.”

He also phoned French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Prime Minister Theresa may and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to personally explained his decision to his key allies.

“He thanked all four leaders for holding frank, substantive discussions on this issue during his first months in office. He also reassured the leaders that America remains committed to the Transatlantic alliance and to robust efforts to protect the environment,” the White House press service said in a statement.

“He noted America’s strong record in reducing emissions and leading the development of clean energy technology, and he reiterated that the United States under the Trump Administration, will be the cleanest and most environmentally friendly country on Earth,” the statement reads.

The leaders of Germany, Italy and France replied that the agreement “cannot be renegotiated” in a joint statement.

“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,” the statement reads.