Donald Trump's decision to leave the Paris Agreement was, in his words, “a reassertion of America’s sovereignty”. And, in a sense, he was right. As it now seems that EU officials have begun to bypass the White House entirely on climate issues.
In the most recent criticism of Trump's decision, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has rejected the suggestion that the Paris Agreement could be renegotiated. At a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Juncker described the United States' decision as a "sign of abdication from common action". He confirmed that the terms of the climate initiative would not be adjusted.
Read more: What is the Paris climate agreement and who has signed it?
The Paris Agreement took 20 years to negotiate, and Juncker stated that a longer waiting period would be counter-intuitive to the Agreement's goals.
"Climate action does not need more distractions. We have spent 20 years negotiating. Now it is time for action."
The G20 summit in July will be the next opportunity to discuss and re-evaluate climate goals. Juncker made a point of noting that the United States' participation in these discussions was not necessary. “We will work hard to have a clear message coming out of the G20 summit in July — or at least from 19 [of the countries].”
Juncker told the EU assembly in no uncertain terms that, “the European Union will not renegotiate the Paris agreement,” and that, “the 29 articles of the agreement must be implemented and not renegotiated”.
The EU Commission is instead focusing on heads of industry to help it achieve climate goals.
Trump's proposal to strike up a less ambitious climate deal was at first decried and then, to an extent, ignored. Officials in Brussels began to hold talks directly with US states and corporations to enact the goals of the Paris Accord. Trump's decision to pull out of the deal has also allowed for China and the EU to strengthen their positions on climate change.
At the EU-China summit in Brussels, Donald Tusk, president of the European council, said: “China and Europe have demonstrated solidarity with future generations and responsibility for the whole planet.”
The announcement came in the wake of a new agreement to step up climate leadership, as the EU-China deal pledges to raise $100bn a year by 2020 to help poorer countries cut emissions.
Furthermore, Miguel Arias Cañete, the European commissioner for climate action, has said that the United States' decision will not affect or alter international climate action: “The fight against climate change cannot depend on the result of elections in one country of another. When a country signs an international agreement it has to fulfil its commitments. There will be new administrations. I’m pretty sure president Trump hasn’t read the articles of this treaty. There is nothing to renegotiate here.”
A vast majority of the EU Parliament voted on Wednesday in favour of binding national targets for cutting emissions from areas such as transport, agriculture and waste management - areas that are not currently covered by Europe's emissions trading scheme. It is a clear sign by the EU to move forward with plans to reduce emissions by 40 per cent below 1990 levels in 2030.
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, a Dutch MEP who was instrumental in guiding the new law through parliament, said: "Today's vote gives a crystal clear signal to Donald Trump: Europe acts on its commitments under the Paris agreement and seizes the opportunities of green growth, with or without you."
It is unlikely that these decisions will have a significant effect on the Trump administration.
During his speech on the Paris Agreement at the Rose Garden in Washington DC, Trump had this to say about the potential for renegotiating the historic climate deal: “If we can, great. If we can’t, that’s fine.”
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
