The US pullout from the Paris deal will have an “impact” but it will remain the cornerstone for all global action against climate change, France has said, ruling out any “renegotiation”. French Minister of State for Ecological and Inclusive Transition Brune Poirson said smaller countries facing the brunt of global warming are justifiably frustrated over the US’ decision. However, Poirson expressed hope that the upcoming United Nation’s COP 23 talks in Germany’s Bonn will witness “concrete progress” towards having the rules and technicalities for implementation of the Paris Agreement defined. “Yes, there will be an impact. There’s no denying that when the world’s second largest CO2 (Cabon dioxide) emitter has decided to withdraw from the international framework to fight climate change.
“Countries that did not contribute to Green House Gas emissions but are suffering from the impact of climate change have every right to be very frustrated,” she told PTI in an email interview. The agreement was signed during the Paris climate meet in December 2015, under which more than 190 nations had agreed to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels and funnel trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe. However, in June 2016, US President Donald Trump, a climate change sceptic, announced his decision to withdraw his country from the landmark deal, entered into by the Obama administration, and “renegotiate” it.
“No, as leaders said during the G7 and G20 summits, the Paris Agreement is not renegotiable. What we need now in Bonn is having the rules and technicalities for implementation of the Paris Agreement defined, but the Paris Agreement is and will remain the cornerstone for international climate action,” Poirson said. Poirson, who was on a three-day visit to India recently, said the strong signals sent by French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi among others in response to the US decision indicate the support to the “Fijian presidency in bringing concrete progress in Bonn in November. Fiji will preside over the Bonn talks in a symbolic gesture as the tiny pacific nation has been at the receiving end of extreme weather events such as wild storms.
Asked if the US withdrawal has affected the momentum gained till now in terms of transition to greener energy pathways, the minister said it did have an impact, but there are positive sides to it as well. “For instance, less than one month after the US decision, France presented a yet more ambitious climate plan: we will be one of the first countries in the world to introduce a Bill in Parliament to ban all new fossil fuel permits,” she said. The “same determination” can be seen in India as well with its “bold announcements” towards making the transition irreversible through targets for renewable energy or electric vehicles, she said, hailing Modi’s role in helping consolidate the deal. “India is already scaling up some vital solutions in urban planning, sustainable cities, public transport, and much more. This contribution is so important, because it helps bring the Paris Agreement concretely in the real world, for citizen, companies, and governments,” she added.
