World leaders reaffirm commitment to fighting climate change

“The EU and China consider the Paris agreement as an historic achievement further accelerating the irreversible global low greenhouse gas emission and climate resilient development”, the draft document says. These changes, coupled with other global dynamics, including growing, urbanizing, more affluent populations, and substantial economic growth in India, China, Brazil, and other nations, will devastate homes, land, and infrastructure.

The Paris agreement is created to set the world on a path toward keeping the warming of the planet “well below” a 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) rise above preindustrial temperatures, an amount of warming that scientists would consider “dangerous” climate change.

Trump pledged during his presidential campaign to withdraw the US from the pact immediately after taking office, but had wavered on the issue since winning the election. But he emphasized that’s still a significant increase – especially if the goal is ultimately to hold the planet to an even more ambitious 1.5 degree Celsius, another target cited in the Paris agreement.

“We wish to work with the European Union to strengthen our communication and practical cooperation in climate change”, Hua said.

A White House official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Trump is expected to withdraw from the deal, though aides cautioned he had not yet made a final decision.

Abandoning the pact would isolate the USA from a raft of worldwide allies who spent years negotiating the 2015 agreement to fight global warming and pollution by reducing carbon emissions. The pact became one of President Barack Obama’s signature achievements.

Trump promised during his presidential campaign to pull the USA out of the deal.

A formal withdrawal would take years, experts say, a situation that led the president of the European Commission to speak dismissively of Trump on Wednesday.

Jean-Claude Juncker said that “the Americans can’t just get out of the agreement”, adding that “it takes three to four years” to pull out.

A host of countries – from China to Germany – have committed to stay with the Paris Agreement regardless of whether the United States leaves it. She warns it would immediately hurt economically – for businesses and trade specifically in the technology and energy industries.

At a rally in April, he criticized global agreements that need the USA to do and pay more and called the accord “one-sided” in which “the United States pays billions while China, Russia and India have contributed, and will contribute, nothing”.

“Please don’t change the (political) climate for the worse”, European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted.

Meaning, Trump can shred the Clean Power Plan if he’d like – but somehow, he will have to replace that plan with some other means of reducing emissions. That means leaving the agreement isn’t the only way to weaken it: Trump could keep the U.S.as a signatory, but continue to slash the programs that would actually make it possible to reach the target for emissions.

Many big companies say they must make long-term investment decisions based on the assumption that most countries will stiffen environmental standards.

As this infographic from Statista shows, China is leading the way in terms of outright spending, with nearly $2 billion invested past year.

Modi said failing to act on climate change would be “a morally criminal act”.

Every researcher, university, business and city that commits to doing its part, and every citizen who commits to making a difference, is leading by example and moving us closer to solving the climate-change puzzle.