G7 summit ends in Italy without US pledge on Paris deal

ROME

All G7 countries excluding the United States pledged their commitment to the Paris climate pact during a two-day summit in Bologna, Italy, local media report.

The summit was the first since President Donald Trump declared he would pull the U.S. out of the international Paris accord earlier this month.

During the summit, environment ministers of Germany, Canada, France, the U.K., Japan and Italy endorsed the Paris deal as “irreversible” to combat climate change.

However, the U.S. refused to sign a joint statement on climate change with the other G7 countries.

“We the United States do not join those sections of the communique on climate and [multilateral development banks], reflecting our recent announcement to withdraw and immediately cease implementation of the Paris Agreement and associated financial commitments," the U.S. was quoted as saying in a footnote of the joint statement issued Monday by G7 environment ministers.

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

*Reporting by Baris Seckin; Writing by Burcu Arik

ROME

All G7 countries excluding the United States pledged their commitment to the Paris climate pact during a two-day summit in Bologna, Italy, local media report.

The summit was the first since President Donald Trump declared he would pull the U.S. out of the international Paris accord earlier this month.

During the summit, environment ministers of Germany, Canada, France, the U.K., Japan and Italy endorsed the Paris deal as “irreversible” to combat climate change.

However, the U.S. refused to sign a joint statement on climate change with the other G7 countries.

*Reporting by Baris Seckin; Writing by Burcu Arik