Climate Change News Update 2017: Donald Trump Not Invited to Summit in December
U.S. President Donald Trump is, at the moment, uninvited to the climate change summit scheduled to take place in the French capital this December for pulling his country out of the 2015 deal.
A representative from the office of France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that it is "for the time being."
More than a hundred countries have been invited to the summit on Dec. 12, including non-government organizations, all of which have committed to implementing the 2015 Paris climate change deal. Syria announced its intention to be part of the 2015 agreement on Tuesday.
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"I would like to affirm the Syrian Arab Republic's commitment to the Paris climate change accord," deputy Environment Minister Wadah Katmawi expressed at the climate talks in Bonn, Germany.
Nicaragua, which was one of the two nations to disagree on the 2015 deal, signed up last month. This means that the U.S. which is the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter is now the sole country opposed to the deal.
Through the years, the business tycoon-turned-president has firmly voiced his skepticism on the matter. Much like the abominable snowman or unicorns, he believes that climate change is a myth, only that it is designed to derail the U.S. economy. At some point in the past prior to being elected into office, he said that the concept of global warming was created by the Chinese to destroy the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing. He also openly criticized former President Barack Obama for dedicating billions of dollars for projects to fight climate change.
It was in June that Trump declared to pull out of the deal and promote U.S. and oil industries instead.
The French official did say that the U.S. will still be invited to the summit, but a representative lower in rank than the president would be asked to attend.
France will host a new summit on climate mobilization on Dec. 12, the two-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement.
