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Trump Delays Decision on Paris Climate Accords Trump Ends Trip Where He Started: At Odds With Allies and Grilled on Russia
(about 4 hours later)
TAORMINA, Italy — President Trump declined to endorse the Paris climate accords on Saturday, saying he would decide in the coming days whether the United States would pull out of the 195-nation agreement. TAORMINA, Italy — President Trump declined to endorse the Paris climate accords on Saturday, ending his first foreign trip much as he began it: at odds with several of the nation’s allies and under a cloud of questions back home about his ties to Russia.
Mr. Trump’s lack of a decision after three days of contentious private debate and intense lobbying by other leaders came even as the six other Group of 7 nations reaffirmed their commitment to cutting planet-warming emissions in a joint statement issued on Saturday afternoon. Mr. Trump refused to bend on the pact after three days of contentious private debate and intense lobbying by other leaders that began on Wednesday with an appeal by Pope Francis. The six other nations in the Group of 7 reaffirmed their commitment to cutting greenhouse-gas emissions in a joint statement issued on Saturday.
The lobbying essentially ended in a stalemate, with Mr. Trump remaining opaque about his intentions regarding the 2015 pact as he prepared to return home after a nine-day overseas trip. The impasse underscored the continuing division between the United States and its allies about the global environmental pact. The stalemate leaves the country’s future role in the climate accord in flux, though Mr. Trump promised to make a decision in the week ahead on whether the United States will be the first of 195 signatories to pull out.
The joint communiqué made clear that all the G-7 nations except the United States remained determined to carry out the Paris agreement. It said: “Expressing understanding for this process, the heads of state and of government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, and the presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement.” Mr. Trump left Italy on Saturday afternoon, returning home to a White House in crisis after a nine-day trip to the Middle East and Europe that was book-ended by new disclosures about links between his aides and Russia.
In a message on Twitter posted before the joint statement was officially released, Mr. Trump said: “I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!” The climate accord was the most vivid sign of division between the United States and its allies, but it was not the only one: Mr. Trump also scolded Germany for its trade practices and lectured NATO members for not adequately supporting the alliance.
The reaction was swift and critical. Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said: “President Trump’s continued waffling on whether to stay in or withdraw from the Paris Agreement made it impossible to reach consensus at the Taormina summit on the need for ambitious climate action. But he stands in stark isolation.” “There was a lot of give-and-take between the different countries in the room,” said Gary D. Cohn, director of the National Economic Council. But he insisted that the other countries understood Mr. Trump’s refusal to decide now, even if they did not support that position.
The leaders of Germany and France expressed disappointment, according to The Associated Press. “The whole discussion about climate was very difficult not to say unsatisfactory,” Ms. Merkel said. “There’s a situation where it’s six, if you count the European Union, seven, against one.” “The president’s only been in office for a certain period of time, and they respect that,” Mr. Cohn said. He added: “We’re all allies. We’re all trying to get to the right place and be respectful of each other.”
President Emmanuel Macron of France said he had told Mr. Trump that it was “indispensable for the reputation of the United States and for the Americans themselves that the Americans remain committed” to the climate agreement. While Mr. Trump’s decision was not a surprise, the reaction was swift and critical.
Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said: “President Trump’s continued waffling on whether to stay in or withdraw from the Paris Agreement made it impossible to reach consensus at the Taormina summit on the need for ambitious climate action. But he stands in stark isolation.”
The leaders of Germany and France expressed disappointment, according to The Associated Press. “The whole discussion about climate was very difficult, not to say unsatisfactory,” Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said. “There’s a situation where it’s six — if you count the European Union, seven — against one.”
President Emmanuel Macron of France said he had told Mr. Trump it was “indispensable for the reputation of the United States and for the Americans themselves that the Americans remain committed” to the climate agreement.
The G-7 statement provides the United States more time to resolve internal White House debates about whether to pull out of the pact. It says the United States is “in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics.”The G-7 statement provides the United States more time to resolve internal White House debates about whether to pull out of the pact. It says the United States is “in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics.”
Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, insisted that the other countries understood Mr. Trump’s refusal to make a decision on the pact, even if they did not support it. The president did not mention the impasse in his only public remarks after the summit, to American troops at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily. But he repeated his complaints about trade and the financing of NATO, even as he pronounced the trip a rousing success.
“They understand the president’s only been in office for a certain period of time, and they respect that,” Mr. Cohn said. “They understand where we are; we understand where they are.” “We hit a home run no matter where we are,” he said.
He added: “We’re all allies. We’re all trying to get to the right place and be respectful of each other.” For Mr. Trump, however, the lack of a decision on the climate accord put an uncertain ending on an ambitious first presidential trip abroad that began as a respite from the surfeit of scandal at home.
For Mr. Trump, the lack of a decision on the climate accord brought an uncertain ending to an ambitious first trip as president that began as a respite from a barrage of scandals at home. Beleaguered White House aides — who were aboard Air Force One flying to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when they heard reports that Mr. Trump had called his former F.B.I. director a “nut job” — had hoped the trip would offer a much-needed change of subject. And to some degree, it did, if only because the White House engineered the itinerary to keep Mr. Trump far away from reporters who could ask him questions. They scheduled no news conferences and put the president only in highly controlled situations: a brief photo session with a foreign leader; a teleprompter speech; ceremonial gatherings with other leaders.
Beleaguered White House aides, who were aboard Air Force One flying to Riyadh when they watched the reports that Mr. Trump had called the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, a “nut job,” had hoped that the trip would provide a much-needed change of subject. But on Saturday, as his aides tried to promote the trip’s accomplishments, reporters bombarded them with questions about reports that Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, had talked about opening a secret back channel to Russia during the transition.
And in some ways it did — if only because the White House engineered the trip to keep Mr. Trump far away from reporters who could ask him questions. Aides scheduled no news conferences and put the president only in highly controlled situations: a brief photo session with a foreign leader, a teleprompter speech, a ceremonial gathering with other leaders. “We’re not going to comment on Jared,” an exasperated Mr. Cohn said.
In some ways, it was not one trip, but two, each with very different themes.
In Saudi Arabia and Israel, Mr. Trump was surprisingly disciplined, sticking to his script and delivering two speeches that set a clear course for his approach to the Middle East. His rapturous welcome in both countries suggested that the United States could make a new start with allies who had grown restive during the Obama administration.In Saudi Arabia and Israel, Mr. Trump was surprisingly disciplined, sticking to his script and delivering two speeches that set a clear course for his approach to the Middle East. His rapturous welcome in both countries suggested that the United States could make a new start with allies who had grown restive during the Obama administration.
In Europe, however, the pugnacious side of Mr. Trump reasserted itself. He harangued NATO members on their contributions to the alliance, demanding more from other countries. He declined to explicitly commit the United States to defend its allies in the case of an attack. He picked a fight with Germany on trade and won derisive headlines after muscling aside the prime minister of Montenegro during a photo shoot. In Europe, however, the pugnacious side of Mr. Trump reasserted itself. In addition to offering a harangue of NATO members over budgetary matters, he declined to explicitly reaffirm America’s commitment to Article 5, which requires the United States to come to the defense of allies in the event of an attack.
“His advisers tried to make him understand that there are some allies that are really nervous and needed reassurance,” said Volker Perthes, director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “He managed to do it with the Saudis and the Israelis.” He also won derisive headlines across the Continent after muscling aside the prime minister of Montenegro during a photo shoot, an image that quickly became a metaphor for his rough dealings with Europeans.
But Mr. Perthes said the president’s harsh attacks on Iran, even if they were applauded in Saudi Arabia and Israel, carried the seeds of future tensions in the region. “Do we get closer to stability in the Middle East if we continue to polarize, if we continue to divide?” he asked. “His advisers tried to make him understand that there are some allies that are really nervous and needed reassurance,” said Volker Perthes, the director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “He managed to do it with the Saudis and the Israelis.” But in Europe, he said, “he does take us for granted.”
On climate, Mr. Trump has long railed against what he says are the economic dangers of the global climate agreement. More flexibility was a central demand by the president, who says the accords could be costly for American businesses and drain jobs in the United States. Brian McKeon, a senior policy official in the Pentagon during the Obama administration, said: “The in-your-face thing at the NATO headquarters was pretty undiplomatic. He succeeded at busting norms, but not building good will.”
Neither Mr. Trump nor senior White House officials traveling with him said whether the United States would stay in the climate agreement, which was signed by President Barack Obama. White House officials had said before Mr. Trump’s inaugural overseas trip that he intended to wait until he returned to Washington to make a final decision. The American national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, said that Mr. Trump’s participation in the ceremony was an implicit endorsement of Article 5. “He did not make a decision not to say it,” General McMaster said.
Advocates for stronger action to confront climate change said the message from the joint statement was that Mr. Trump remained unconvinced of the accords’ value. On climate, Mr. Trump has long railed against what he says are the economic dangers of a global climate pact. He has demanded more flexibility in setting standards on emissions, saying other countries are getting a better deal and that the agreement could be costly for American businesses.
“President Trump should now return to Washington and make the right decision, take climate change seriously and take action with the rest of the world,” said Jennifer Morgan, the executive director of Greenpeace International. In a message on Twitter on Saturday, he said: “I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!”
The exit of the United States, the world’s largest economy and second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China, would not immediately dissolve the climate pact, which was legally ratified last year. But it would profoundly weaken the deal and pave the way for other countries to withdraw from it. There is an intense debate inside the West Wing over whether to withdraw from the accord or to try to renegotiate its terms, pitting hard-line nationalists, like Stephen K. Bannon, the chief strategist, against more mainstream advisers like Mr. Cohn.
Some climate diplomats say the rest of the world may be growing weary of America’s back-and-forth on climate change policy. In 1997, the United States joined the world’s first climate treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, under the leadership of Vice President Al Gore, but later withdrew during the Bush administration. Then Mr. Obama led the way in forging and signing on to the Paris accords. The latest move by Mr. Trump nearly, albeit not entirely, negates that. On Thursday, Mr. Cohn told reporters that Mr. Trump’s thinking on the subject was “evolving.” But other senior officials said even if the United States remained in the agreement, it could effectively gut its principles.
“At some juncture other countries are going to get sick of us joining in, pulling out, joining in and pulling out and say, ‘Are we really going to work with the U.S. on this anymore?’” said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations group that produces scientific reports intended to inform global policy makers. The exit of the United States, the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China, would not immediately dissolve the pact, which was negotiated under President Barack Obama and legally ratified last year. But it would profoundly weaken the strength of the deal and pave the way for other countries to withdraw from it.
Mr. Trump’s supporters, particularly coal-state Republicans, are eager for him to withdraw from the Paris accords, and see such a move as a fulfillment of a signature campaign promise. Speaking to a crowd of oil rig workers last May, Mr. Trump vowed to “cancel” the agreement. Some climate diplomats said the rest of the world was growing weary of America’s back-and-forth on climate change policy. In 1997, the United States joined the world’s first climate treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, but later withdrew during the Bush administration.
Coal miners and coal chief executives in states like Kentucky and West Virginia have pushed hard for Mr. Trump to reverse Mr. Obama’s climate change policies, which were ultimately aimed at reducing the widespread burning of coal, the largest contributor to global warming. “At some juncture, other countries are going to get sick of us joining in, pulling out, joining in and pulling out and say, ‘Are we really going to work with the U.S. on this anymore?’” said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton.
In a May 23 letter to Mr. Trump from 10 state attorneys general, West Virginia’s attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, wrote, “Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is an important and necessary step toward reversing the harmful energy policies and unlawful overreach of the Obama era.” Mr. Trump’s supporters, particularly coal state Republicans, are eager for him to withdraw from the Paris accord, and see such a move as a fulfillment of a signature campaign promise. Speaking to a crowd of oil-rig workers last May, Mr. Trump vowed to “cancel” the agreement.
On trade, Mr. Trump pushed his demand that agreements negotiated by the United States with other countries be fair, as well as free, with reciprocity on tariffs and other barriers. His administration has taken particular aim at Germany, accusing it of depressing the value of the euro to make its exports more competitive and to undercut American goods. Coal miners and coal executives in states like Kentucky and West Virginia have pushed hard for Mr. Trump to reverse all of Mr. Obama’s climate change policies, which are ultimately aimed at reducing the widespread burning of coal.
In a recent letter to Mr. Trump from 10 state attorneys general, West Virginia’s attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, wrote, “Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is an important and necessary step toward reversing the harmful energy policies and unlawful overreach of the Obama era.”
On trade, Mr. Trump pushed his demand that any agreements negotiated by the United States must be fair. The Trump administration has taken particular aim at Germany, accusing it of depressing the value of the euro to make its exports more competitive and to undercut American goods.
In a meeting with leaders of the European Union in Brussels on Thursday, Mr. Trump complained about imports of German cars, threatening to stop them and calling Germany “very bad” on trade.In a meeting with leaders of the European Union in Brussels on Thursday, Mr. Trump complained about imports of German cars, threatening to stop them and calling Germany “very bad” on trade.
German officials pointed out that its two leading luxury automakers, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have sprawling assembly plants in the United States. They are also frustrated that Trump officials repeatedly raise the prospect of negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with Germany, something that the nation, as a member of the European Union, cannot do. German officials point out that its two leading luxury automakers, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have huge assembly plants in the United States. They are also frustrated that Trump officials repeatedly raise the prospect of negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with Germany, something that the country, as a member of the European Union, cannot do.
Shortly after Air Force One took off from Sicily for Washington, Mr. Trump said on Twitter that he had enjoyed “great” meetings on trade, saying, “We push for the removal of trade-distorting practices…to foster a truly level playing field.”