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Merkel rebukes Trump on climate change
G20 closes with rebuke to Trump's climate change stance
Story highlights
- The summit declaration accepts some of protectionist trade policies
- Other G20 members remain committed to the Paris climate agreement
Hamburg, Germany (CNN)German Chancellor Angela Merkel closed the G20 summit in Hamburg with
a rebuke to US President Donald Trump's stance on climate change, but
the group appeared to make a concession on his protectionist trade
policies.
World
leaders had been at an impasse over an increasingly isolationist United
States and Trump's climate change and trade policies for most of the
summit, and Merkel had made it clear that the US had made talks
difficult.
"Unfortunately
-- and I deplore this -- the United States of America left the climate
agreement, or rather announced their intention of doing this," Merkel
said as she closed the summit and presented a G20 declaration.
US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G20 summit on Saturday.
She
said that the other 19 members of the G20, which includes the European
Union, agreed that the Paris accord was irreversible and that they
remained committed to it.
Trump
faced a chorus of global outrage last month when he announced he would
withdraw the US from the agreement, which obliges countries to reduce
their carbon emissions to ward off catastrophic global warming.
The
G20 declaration noted the US' withdrawal from the accord but said the
country affirmed its "strong commitment to an approach that lowers
emissions while supporting economic growth and improving energy security
needs."
Russian President
Vladimir Putin said after the summit that climate change was a "major
issue" and said Merkel reached a "good compromise" at the summit.
"But
the compromise was reached that although the US will withdraw, they are
nevertheless still prepared to carry on now (with) discussions on this
subject. It seems to me this is a very positive point and can be chalked
up to the successes of Angela Merkel," Putin said.
British
Prime Minister Theresa May said she was "dismayed" at the US climate
stance, adding that she had urged Trump to reconsider his position.
And
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded by saying that "strong
economic growth and environmental protection can go hand in hand."
"This is the narrative that we have been sharing... and was enthusiastically supported by just about everyone here at the G20."
Backtrack on trade
In
her remarks, Merkel appeared to come down hard on Trump's protectionist
trade policies, saying she was glad that leaders agreed that "markets
need to be kept open."
"This is all about fighting protectionism and also unfair trade practices."
But
the declaration made concessions for "the role of legitimate trade
defense instruments," in a sign that leaders had given into the US.
Trump
won the 2016 election on an "America First" platform and vowed to pull
the country out of several multilateral trade deals and negotiations.
The
US had threatened to impose new tariffs on steel imports into the
country, a comment that prompted European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker to threaten the same in return, raising fears of a
trade war.
Trump-Putin meeting
Much of the attention at the G20 has been on a bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin on Friday.
Putin
told reporters Saturday that Trump appeared to agree with Moscow's
position that it did not interfere in last year's election during their
bilateral talks.
"I
repeat, he asked a lot of questions on this matter," Putin said at a
Saturday press conference. "I answered as many as I could answer. I
think he took it into consideration and agreed with it. But you should
ask him what his opinion is on that," Putin said.
On
Friday, a senior Trump administration official told CNN that Trump did
not accept Putin's claim of noninterference in the US election.
Asked
specifically how Putin views his relationship with Trump, the Russian
president said, "and regarding personal relationship ... I think it was
established. I don't know how this will sound, but I'll tell you how I
see it. TV Trump is very different from the real person, he is
absolutely specific, absolutely adequate in his perception of the
dialogue partner, he analyzes things quickly, replies to the raised
questions or new elements of the conversation. So I think if our future
relations will unfold the same way as our meeting yesterday, there is
every reason to believe that we can restore, at least partially, the
level of cooperation we need."
The G20 summit has been marked by protests against capitalism, globalization, climate change and the concentration of power among the 20 nations. They have been violent at times.
The
Hamburg Police press office said that more than 200 police officers
have so far been injured and that 114 people have been arrested. Another
89 have been taken into temporary custody. It was not clear how many
protesters were injured. Around 1,000 police officers have arrived in
Hamburg to support security forces.
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