The Trump administration refused to join a G7 communique released Monday that endorsed the goals of the Paris agreement on climate change.
Instead, the U.S. said it would work with global partners in ways “consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and a healthy environment.”
“We the United States of America continue to demonstrate through action, having reduced our CO2 footprint as demonstrated by achieving pre-1994 CO2 levels domestically,” reads the administration’s position statement, which was included as a footnote of the G7 communique.
President Donald Trump announced in early June the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris agreement, which the Obama administration joined in 2016. Trump said the accord would hurt American workers.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt attended the G7 meeting but left the summit one day early on Saturday, after other countries bashed Trump’s decision to leave the Paris accord.
Pruitt was one of the Paris accord’s most vocal opponents within the Trump administration. He and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon faced off against White House aides Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
“The United States will continue to engage with key international partners in a manner that is consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and a healthy environment,” reads the statement.
“Accordingly, we the United States do not join those sections of the communiqué on climate and [multilateral development banks], reflecting our recent announcement to withdraw and immediately cease implementation of the Paris Agreement and associated financial commitments,” reads the statement.
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K. signed the communiqué. All of these countries opposed Trump’s plan to withdraw from the Paris accord and spent the weeks leading up to the decision lobbying the administration to remain in the pact.
The rest of the G7 signed a statement that the Paris agreement “is essential and can provide us with significant opportunities for modernizing our economies, for enhancing competitiveness, and stimulating employment and growth, while securing social inclusion.”
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