EU leaders rule out new talks on Paris climate deal

By Hajer M'tiri

PARIS

France, Germany and Italy on Thursday ruled out any new talks on the Paris Climate Accord shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he could get a better deal for Washington.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the EU’s thee major powers expressed regret about Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the historic agreement to combat climate change and reaffirmed their commitments to the landmark deal.

"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,” they said and vowed to quickly implement the accord.

"We will step up efforts to support developing countries, in particular the poorest and most vulnerable, in achieving their mitigation and adaptation goals,” according to the statement.

In announcing the move to pull out of the deal, Trump said his action would help improve the U.S. economy and return jobs.

In a telephone call with Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was disappointed with the U.S. decision because the accord “provides the right global framework for protecting the prosperity and security of future generations, while keeping energy affordable and secure for our citizens and businesses,” according to a statement from her office.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address he respects the U.S. decision but called it a "huge error" that would have negative effects for the future of the U.S., its people and the planet.

"Tonight, the U.S. has turned its back on the world. France will not turn its back on Americans," according to Macron, who extended an invitation to scientist upset with the American move. "Come and work here with us,” he said. “We all share the same responsibility. Make out planet great again.”

Macron said he regrets the move by Trump as "there is no Plan B, because there is no Planet B” on climate.

Speaking first in French, then English, he said he told Trump in a brief and "direct" conversation that "nothing is re-negotiable" in the Paris Accord and it will not be "reversible”.

France, along with Germany and Italy, plan to meet in the coming days to announce stronger climate measures.

The mayor of Paris also criticized Trump’s move Thursday as "a dramatic and unpopular mistake” to withdraw from the deal.

"As the chair of C40, a network of 91 of the world’s major cities committed to tackling climate change and as the mayor of Paris, I urge the U.S. administration to reconsider this short-sighted decision," according to a statement from Anne Hidalgo.

"Regardless of President Trump’s decision, the great cities of the world, in particular the 12 American C40 cities, remain resolutely committed to doing what needs to be done to implement the Paris Agreement,” it added.

The Paris Agreement, spearheaded by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, and signed by 195 countries in April 2016, aims to fight climate change by reducing carbon emissions and limiting global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.

During his election campaign, Trump called global warming "a hoax" and promised to scrap the agreement and return jobs to the coal industry that is often an easy target for environmentalists.