At the conclusion of this year’s contentious G-20 summit, the countries released a communique on climate that placed Donald Trump starkly at odds with every other nation present. The communique noted that every country aside from the U.S. recognizes that the Paris agreement is “irreversible,” reaffirmed their “strong commitment” and will move “swiftly towards its full implementation in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.”
The 19 nations—Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK and the European Union—represent the majority of the world’s economic output and population. The G-20 was Trump’s first major international summit since announcing that he would withdraw the U.S. from the Paris agreement.
Donald Trump is learning the hard way that he cannot thwart the entire world on climate change and expect to continue with business as usual. Trump’s historically irresponsible decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris agreement has left the U.S. isolated on the world stage.
The other 19 leaders of the world’s largest economies stood shoulder to shoulder in unified support for the Paris agreement. Given the choice between following Trump or standing strong for climate action, not a single world leader decided to back him. That’s unprecedented, and it shows how deeply unpopular and misguided Trump’s attack on the Paris agreement has been, and how much damage it has done to U.S. credibility and standing in the world.
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