United States President Donald Trump was left isolated on the world stage and embattled at home as leaders of other countries and corporate entities stood firmly against his decision to pull out of the Paris climate deal.
China, the world’s biggest polluter, vowed to battle climate change. The leaders of Italy, France and Germany rejected Mr Trump’s suggestion that the Paris Agreement be renegotiated.
In US, two corporate leaders, Mr Elon Musk (CEO of SpaceX and Tesla) and Mr Robery Iger (CEO of Disney), resigned from Mr Trump’s advisory council in protest and several US city mayors pledged to “stand for environmental justice“.
An avalanche of criticism greeted Mr Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 accord that sets non-binding targets to curb emissions that drive global warming.
Mr Trump defended his decision by saying that he had “elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris”. But his sentiment was rebutted by the mayor of the city, Mr Bill Peduto, who said the move had weakened America. He added that Mr Trump was giving coal mining communities “false hope“.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 3 June 2017