EU reaffirms commitment to Paris climate accord in light of US withdrawal
Europe is sticking to the Paris climate agreement and will continue to work with all nations that want to stop global warming, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said, after new US president Donald Trump withdrew his country from the accord.
“The Paris agreement remains the best hope for all humanity. So Europe will stay on that course, and continue to cooperate with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming,” Von der Leyen told the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
Immediately after being sworn in on Monday night, Trump signed a presidential decree stating that the US would withdraw from the pact. The withdrawal takes effect in a year’s time. In his inauguration speech, he also announced that he would prioritise drilling for oil and gas.
"The Paris agreement remains the best hope for all humanity"
Von der Leyen said on Tuesday that it was impossible to ignore the impact of climate change. “All continents will have to accelerate the transition to zero emissions, and address the growing burden of climate change,” she said. The US is the world’s leading CO2 emitter after China.
The Paris climate agreement was concluded in 2015 among the members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Participating countries pledge to make efforts to limit global warming to 1.5° C compared to the pre-industrial era.
The US withdrew from the agreement in 2020 during Trump’s previous term and rejoined in 2021 under the presidency of Joe Biden.
Geopolitical winds
2024 was the hottest year on record, and the average temperature over the last two years has exceeded the 1.5° C limit.
“Climate science has not changed, regardless of geopolitical wind shifts. In fact, impacts have changed in the sense that they are getting worse and worse,” Simon Stiell, the head of UN Climate, told the WEF on Tuesday.
“Science is far more significant than the few voices questioning it,” he said, adding that science had been “turned into a weapon”.
Environmental organisation Greenpeace said that Trump was denying reality and science by withdrawing from the agreement.
"Trump and his allies are turning their backs on the international community and isolating the US"
“He is again opting for a policy that will not protect his country from climate-related disasters such as repeated wildfires or hurricanes,” said Greenpeace Belgium spokes person Joeri Thijs.
“Trump and his allies are turning their backs on the international community and isolating the US. Their agenda of ‘drill baby, drill’ will put them behind in the global drive for climate action and the transition to renewable energy.”
Share prices fall
Meanwhile, shares in European companies active in building offshore wind farms lost ground on Tuesday, after Trump ordered the freezing of offshore wind farm licences and a ban on the construction of new farms in US waters.
Trump said the US was blessed with oil and gas, “and we're going to use that, we’re not going to participate in that wind stuff”, adding that “big ugly wind turbines are harming whales, destroying views and killing birds”.
European companies active in the sector such as Orsted, Vestas and RWE and Belgium’s DEME saw their share prices fall on Tuesday. However, European oil shares also fell, after Trump reiterated his demand for Europe to buy more US oil and gas if the EU wants to avoid tariffs.
Environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion outside the offices of Amundi, Total Energies' largest shareholder, in Paris, May 2024 © PHOTO HANS LUCAS COLLECTION
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