Chancellor Angela Merkel regrets the decision of the USA to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which she described as a cornerstone of cooperation among all the countries of our world, speaking on Friday in Berlin.
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We must now look forward, said Chancellor Angela Merkel in a statement. "The decision of the USA cannot and will not stop all of us who are committed to protecting our Earth, " she declared.
"Quite the reverse is true. We in Germany, in Europe and in the world will pool all our forces more determinedly than ever in order to successfully address the major challenges facing humanity, like climate change."
The Agreement benefits all people and will generate prosperity, stressed the Chancellor. Germany will act on its commitments under the Agreement, and will in particular meet its commitments vis à vis the poorest and most vulnerable countries of the world. Climate policy over the last twenty years has demonstrated that the path is stony, but irreversible.
Angela Merkel expressed her delight to see the many states and groups around the world, even in the USA, who want to take this path together. The Chancellor called on the general public around the globe, "I say to everybody who believes that the future of our planet is important, let us continue along this path together, so that we can be successful for our Mother Earth."
Yesterday evening the Chancellor spoke by telephone to the America President, Donald Trump and informed him that she regrets his decision. In another telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany and France agreed to take further initiatives in order to help the climate agreement be successful.
In a statement to the press in the White House rose garden, US President Donald Trump yesterday announced that the USA would withdraw from the agreement, which he claimed was damaging the US economy. For this reason, he said all measures under the provisions of the agreement would be suspended with immediate effect. He stated that he wanted to renegotiate the agreement.
In a joint statement, Germany, France and Italy rejected the call for new negotiations. "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 heads of state and government regretted the decision of the United States of America. At the same time they reiterated their intention to uphold the agreement and encouraged all partners to step up measures to mitigate climate change.
The Paris Agreement, they said, remains a cornerstone in the cooperation between countries, for effectively and timely tackling climate change and for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It offers substantial opportunities for prosperity and growth in all countries, they added.
The three states also announced that the international community had decided to "step up efforts to support developing countries, in particular the poorest and most vulnerable, in achieving their mitigation and adaptation goals."
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks also considers the decision to be a mistake. "The damage to multilateralism is greater than the damage to international climate change mitigation though," she said. What makes the Paris Agreement so unique is that the international community decided to tackle one of the greatest global problems of the century together.
A state party may only withdraw from the Paris Agreement after a period of three years, and the withdrawal will only become effective one year after that. This means that the USA’s withdrawal will only officially become effective in November 2020. The Agreement itself will remain in force nevertheless. The USA can, however, as it has announced, terminate its collaboration earlier. The Agreement does not provide for the imposition of any penalties in this case.