German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday pledged "more decisive action than ever" to protect the climate after the US pullout from the landmark Paris accord.

"We in Germany, in Europe and the world will band together to take more decisive action than ever to confront and successfully surmount major challenges to humanity such as climate change," she told reporters.

In a strongly worded statement, Merkel said US President Donald Trump's announcement to turn his back on the Paris pact was "highly regrettable, to put it very mildly".

"This decision cannot and will not stop those of us who feel obligated to protect our Earth," she said.

Calling the Paris pact a "historic quantum leap," she said that Germany would live up to its "obligations under this agreement, particularly on financing of climate assistance for the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the world."

She said it would be a "rocky road" toward full implementation of the agreement but called it "irreversible".

Merkel hailed private initiatives around the world on climate protection, including in the United States, saying they would help ensure "more prosperity and opportunities for the world."

She vowed to make a success of the next round of UN climate talks in the western Germany city of Bonn in November.

"I say to all those for whom the future of our planet is important: let us continue on this path together so that we can succeed for Mother Earth," she said.</s>BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany and China vowed on Thursday to expand their partnership and pledged to continue fighting climate change, sending a signal to Washington hours before U.S. President Donald Trump announces if he will quit a global climate deal.

Berlin was the first stop in Europe for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, amid growing concern in Germany over some of Trump’s policies, especially on climate change and protectionism. He was due to head later for Brussels.

“China has become a more important and strategic partner,” Merkel said at a news conference with Li, pointing to political, economic, social and cultural ties.

“We are living in times of global uncertainty and see our responsibility to expand our partnership in all the different areas and to push for a world order based on law,” she said.

The two held wide-ranging talks on issues from trade, civil rights, the North Korea crisis and climate change and a multitude of business deals were signed.

“We are both ready to contribute to stability in the world,”

Li said.

As the world awaits Trump’s decision on climate change after he denounced the Paris pact in his 2016 presidential campaign, Li said China was committed to tackling the issue, both via the Paris Agreement and by setting national targets.

“China will stand by its responsibilities on climate change,” he told reporters in Berlin.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

European and Canadian officials have warned Trump that the U.S. risks ceding global leadership on combating climate change to China, if it withdraws from the Paris accord.

Merkel vented her frustration with Trump on Sunday after what she described as unsatisfactory talks of G7 leaders, saying Germany and Europe could no longer totally rely on traditional allies. Since then she has hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Li.

ECONOMIC GIANTS

Merkel said she wanted quick progress on an EU-China investment deal and that this would be a precondition to any free trade talks, a move Li said would be timely.

With bilateral trade of 170 billion euros last year, China was Germany’s most important trading partner, said Merkel.

“These are impressive figures and we both said we want to extend this,” said Merkel, adding the signing of business agreements pointed to future cooperation in cars, aviation technology, recycling and artificial intelligence.

Among the deals signed was one between Daimler and joint venture partner BAIC Motor Corporation on upgrading a Mercedes-Benz factory in Beijing for electric cars.

Li said he believed they two had found a solution on the issue of Chinese quotas for electric cars after a lengthy discussion.

However, thorny issues remain between the two exporting nations, with Merkel saying she had pressed China to open up its market more to German firms who want a level playing field.

Slideshow (9 Images)

“We need fair market access ... and it’s very important to protect intellectual property and ensure trade and business secrets are kept and of course in times of cyber possibilities that’s not always easy,” said Merkel at a business event later.

Merkel also tackled civil rights, saying she and Li had resolved the issue of German political foundations working in China which she said were crucial for a stronger civil society.

“We believe our political foundations make an important contribution and I am pleased that all our bureaus in China can be registered and hope they can resume work,” she said.</s>BRUSSELS: At a two-day summit that begins in Brussels on Thursday, China and the European Union will commit to free trade and the Paris climate pact in a sweeping rejection of President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies.The two sides are preparing a joint draft statement to give additional heft to the EU-China talks, which include Chinese Premier Li Keqiang . Trump is said to be leaning toward pulling the US out of the climate-change agreement after other Group of Seven leaders failed to win him over at a summit in Italy last week. The discord prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to suggest the US had become an unreliable partner.At the Brussels meeting, the two sides will seek to work on a stalled investment deal and China will look to make progress on being recognised as a market economy — a status that makes it more difficult to impose anti-dumping measures to its exports. The draft statement obtained by Bloomberg says the EU and China want climate change and clean energy to “become a main pillar of their bilateral partnership, including in their economic relations”. “The Americans can’t just exit this climate protection treaty,” EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker “I’m opposed to behaving like vassals of the Americans. It’s Europe’s obligation to say: You can’t do that.” The EU and China will call on all parties to uphold the Paris agreement because climate change is a “national security issue and multiplying factor of social and political fragility, and constitutes a root cause for instability,” according to the draft statement.</s>BRUSSELS (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and top officials from the European Union were set Friday to reaffirm their commitment to a landmark climate change agreement, a day after President Donald Trump said he was pulling the United States out of the Paris accord.

Climate issues were expected to dominate discussions between Li, who is leading a large delegation of ministers to Brussels, and EU Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Speaking to European business leaders alongside Li, Juncker said EU-China ties are underpinned by “a rules-based international system.”

Brussels and Beijing believe in “the full implementation, without nuances, of the Paris climate agreement,” Juncker said, and underlined that there can be “no backsliding” on the pact.

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted that the U.S. withdrawal won’t prevent the rest of the world from pressing ahead with efforts to curb global warming.

“Nothing can and will stop us from doing so,” she said in a brief statement to reporters.

Merkel, whose country hosts this year’s international climate summit, said Trump’s decision was “extremely regrettable and that’s putting it very mildly.”

“It’s now necessary to look forward after last night’s announcement by the U.S. administration,” she said, adding that Europe’s biggest economy will continue to meet its obligations under the 2015 Paris accord.

At their short summit, the EU and China — two of the world’s major polluters — are set to reaffirm their stance on global warming.

According to a draft, they will express their determination “to forge ahead with further policies and measures for effective implementation of their respective nationally determined contributions.”

European heavyweights France, Germany and Italy said in a joint statement on Thursday that they regretted Trump’s decision to withdraw from the accord, while affirming their “strongest commitment” to implement its measures.

While Trump said the United States would be willing to rejoin the accord if it could obtain more favorable terms, the three European leaders said the agreement cannot be renegotiated, “since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economics.”

Germany’s environment minister underscored that Friday, saying “there will be no new deal with the United States” on climate change.

Barbara Hendricks told reporters in Berlin that other countries will fill the leadership vacuum left by the United States but none will be expected to make up the shortfall in emissions reductions caused by Washington’s exit.

She added that the global climate would “survive” Trump’s maximum presidential term of eight years.

Hendricks said the absence of $500 million contributions from the United States to the Green Climate Fund will be felt from 2018, but said it might be possible to fill the gap with “other financing mechanisms, for example through the World Bank.”</s>President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would withdraw the United States from the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change, drawing anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry, Reuters reported.

Trump, tapping into the "America First" message he used when he was elected president last year, said the Paris accord would undermine the U.S. economy, cost U.S. jobs, weaken American national sovereignty and put the country at a permanent disadvantage to the other countries of the world.

"We're getting out," Trump said at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden under sunny skies on a warm June day, fulfilling a major election campaign pledge.

"We don't want other leaders and other countries laughing at us any more. And they won't be," Trump said.

"The same nations asking us to stay in the agreement are the countries that have collectively cost America trillions of dollars through tough trade practices and in many cases lax contributions to our critical military alliance," Trump added.

Republican U.S. congressional leaders backed Trump. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell applauded Trump "for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration's assault on domestic energy production and jobs."

Supporters of the accord, including some leading U.S. business figures, called Trump's move a blow to international efforts to tackle dangers for the planet posed by global warming.

Former Democratic President Barack Obama expressed regret over the pullout from a deal he was instrumental in brokering.

"But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I'm confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we've got," Obama added.

Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, said his administration would begin negotiations either to re-enter the Paris accord or to have a new agreement "on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers." He complained in particular about China's terms under the agreement.

"The decision made by U.S. President Trump amounts to turning their backs on the wisdom of humanity. I'm very disappointed... I am angry," Japanese Environment Minister Koichi Yamamoto told a news conference on Friday in an unusually frank tone.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in a rare joint statement the agreement could not be renegotiated and urged their allies to hasten efforts to combat climate change and adapt.

"While the U.S. decision is disheartening, we remain inspired by the growing momentum around the world to combat climate change and transition to clean growth economies," said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

A summit between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and top European Union officials in Brussels on Friday will end with a joint statement - the first ever issued by China and the EU - committing both sides to full implementation of the Paris accord.

Speaking in Berlin a day earlier, Premier Li said China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, would stick to its commitment to fight climate change.

Russia also voiced abiding support for the Paris accord, regardless of the U.S. withdrawal.

"We made the decision to join, and I don't think we will (change) it," Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted as saying by RIA news agency.

In India, one of the world's fastest growing major economies and a growing contributor to pollution, a top advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi vouched for intentions to switch to renewable power generation independent of the Paris accord.

"The prime minister is very keen on this," Arvind Panagariya said.

With Trump's action, the United States will walk away from nearly every other nation in the world on one of the pressing global issues of the 21st century. Syria and Nicaragua are the only other non-participants in the accord, signed by 195 nations in Paris in 2015.

Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who is the incoming head of the U.N. Climate Change Conferences, which formalized the 2015 pact, said Trump's decision was "deeply disappointing".

Fiji, like many other small island nations, is seen as particularly vulnerable to global warming and a possible rise in ocean levels as a result of melting polar ice.

U.S. business leaders voiced exasperation with the Trump administration.

"Today's decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.'s leadership position in the world," Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein wrote on Twitter.

Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk and Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger said they would leave White House advisory councils after Trump's move.

Under the Paris accord, which took years to reach, rich and poor countries committed to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases generated by burning fossil fuels that are blamed by scientists for warming the planet.

"I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris," Trump said.

Pittsburgh's mayor, Democrat Bill Peduto, shot back on Twitter that his city, long the heart of the U.S. steel industry, actually embraced the Paris accord.

The spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the action a "major disappointment." The U.N. body that handles climate negotiations said the accord could not be renegotiated based on the request of a single nation.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, speaking in Singapore on Friday, also called the U.S. decision "disappointing... but not at all surprising," adding that Australia remained "committed to our Paris commitments."

South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement "it is regrettable that the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord will undermine international responsibility and efforts to respond to climate change."

Trump said the United States would stop payments to the U.N. Green Climate Fund, in which rich countries committed billions of dollars to help developing nations deal with floods, droughts and other impacts from climate change.

The White House said it would stick to U.N. rules for withdrawing from the pact. Those rules require a nation to wait three years from the date the pact gained legal force, Nov. 4, 2016, before formally seeking to leave. That country must then wait another year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed disappointment and said in an email to employees that he had spoken with Trump on Tuesday to try to persuade him to stay in the Paris accord. "It wasn't enough," he said.

Other business leaders warned that the U.S. economy would give away technological leadership.

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt said he was disappointed, adding: "Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government."

Democrats also blasted Trump. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the decision "one of the worst policy moves made in the 21st century because of the huge damage to our economy, our environment and our geopolitical standing."

The United States had committed to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025. The United States accounts for more than 15 percent of total worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, second only to China.

Leading climate scientists say greenhouse gas emissions trap heat in the atmosphere and have caused a warming planet, sea level rise, droughts and more frequent violent storms.

A "Global Trends" report prepared by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence's office, released on Jan. 9, warned that climate change posed security risks because of extreme weather, stress on water and food, and global tensions over how to manage the changes.

Last year was the warmest since records began in the 19th Century, as global average temperatures continued a rise dating back decades that scientists attribute to greenhouse gases.

Frank Rijsberman, Director-General of Seoul based Global Green Growth Institute expected international funding for investment needed to fight climate change would suffer, noting a $1 billion reduction in U.S. funding the Green Climate Fund in South Korea.

Economists said the U.S. withdrawal would potentially cost U.S. jobs. China and the EU both already employ more workers in the renewable energy sector than the United States, according to the data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

"Winding back the climate agenda means that the U.S. will be left behind in the clean energy transition as other global players, such as in Europe and China, demonstrate greater commitment to deploying low carbon and job-creating solutions to climate change," said Peter Kiernan, of the Economist Intelligence Unit.</s>BERLIN Germany and China vowed on Thursday to expand their partnership and pledged to continue fighting climate change, sending a signal to Washington hours before U.S. President Donald Trump announces if he will quit a global climate deal.Berlin was the first stop in Europe for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, amid growing concern in Germany over some of Trump's policies, especially on climate change and protectionism. He was due to head later for Brussels. "China has become a more important and strategic partner," Merkel said at a news conference with Li, pointing to political, economic, social and cultural ties."We are living in times of global uncertainty and see our responsibility to expand our partnership in all the different areas and to push for a world order based on law," she said.The two held wide-ranging talks on issues from trade, civil rights, the North Korea crisis and climate change and a multitude of business deals were signed."We are both ready to contribute to stability in the world," Li said.

As the world awaits Trump's decision on climate change after he denounced the Paris pact in his 2016 presidential campaign, Li said China was committed to tackling the issue, both via the Paris Agreement and by setting national targets."China will stand by its responsibilities on climate change," he told reporters in Berlin.European and Canadian officials have warned Trump that the U.S. risks ceding global leadership on combating climate change to China, if it withdraws from the Paris accord.Merkel vented her frustration with Trump on Sunday after what she described as unsatisfactory talks of G7 leaders, saying Germany and Europe could no longer totally rely on traditional allies. Since then she has hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Li.

ECONOMIC GIANTS

 Merkel said she wanted quick progress on an EU-China investment deal and that this would be a precondition to any free trade talks, a move Li said would be timely. With bilateral trade of 170 billion euros last year, China was Germany's most important trading partner, said Merkel.

"These are impressive figures and we both said we want to extend this," said Merkel, adding the signing of business agreements pointed to future cooperation in cars, aviation technology, recycling and artificial intelligence.Among the deals signed was one between Daimler and joint venture partner BAIC Motor Corporation on upgrading a Mercedes-Benz factory in Beijing for electric cars. Li said he believed they two had found a solution on the issue of Chinese quotas for electric cars after a lengthy discussion. However, thorny issues remain between the two exporting nations, with Merkel saying she had pressed China to open up its market more to German firms who want a level playing field."We need fair market access ... and it's very important to protect intellectual property and ensure trade and business secrets are kept and of course in times of cyber possibilities that's not always easy," said Merkel at a business event later.Merkel also tackled civil rights, saying she and Li had resolved the issue of German political foundations working in China which she said were crucial for a stronger civil society. "We believe our political foundations make an important contribution and I am pleased that all our bureaus in China can be registered and hope they can resume work," she said. (Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Emma Thomasson, Andreas Rinke and Michelle Martin; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.</s>Berlin, Germany | AFP | China will “steadfastly” implement the Paris climate pact, Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday, urging others to do likewise as US President Donald Trump was due to announce whether he will keep Washington in the deal.

“China will continue to implement promises made in the Paris Agreement, to move towards the 2030 goal step by step steadfastly,” Li said in a Berlin joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“But of course, we also hope to do this in cooperation with others,” added Li.

China has been investing billions in clean energy infrastructure, as its leaders seek to clear up the notorious choking pollution enveloping its biggest cities, including Beijing.

Li stressed that it was in China’s own interest to stick to the climate deal.

“Once China’s development reaches a certain level, it has to move to a sustainable model, that means we have to push green development,” he said.

In Berlin, Li and Merkel oversaw the signing of a slew of deals including electric car projects between Germany’s biggest automobile groups, Volkswagen and Daimler, with Chinese companies.

China and the US are together responsible for some 40 percent of the world’s emissions and experts have warned that it is vital for both to remain in the Paris agreement if it is to have any chance of succeeding.

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Also, Like us on facebook</s>BRUSSELS (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and top officials from the European Union officials are set to reaffirm their commitment to a landmark climate change agreement after President Donald Trump said he was pulling the United States out of the Paris accord.

Climate issues are expected to dominate discussions between Keqiang, who is leading a large delegation of ministers to Brussels on Friday, and EU Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The EU and China — two of the world’s major polluters — are set to issue a statement reaffirming their stance on global warming following Trump’s announcement Thursday.

According to a draft, they will express their determination “to forge ahead with further policies and measures for effective implementation of their respective nationally determined contributions.”</s>In Berlin, Greenpeace activists projected Trump's silhouette onto the side of the U.S. embassy along with the words "#TotalLoser, so sad!"

Hours later German Chancellor Angela Merkel summoned reporters for an impromptu statement in which she called Trump's decision "extremely regrettable, and that's putting it very mildly."

But Merkel, whose country hosts this year's international climate summit, said it was now time to look ahead.

"This decision can't and won't stop all those of us who feel obliged to protect the planet," she said. "On the contrary. We in Germany, Europe and the world will combine our forces more resolutely than ever to address and successfully tackle challenges for humanity such as climate change."

Anticipating a possible U.S. pullout, officials from China and the European Union — two of the world's major polluters — had prepared a declaration reaffirming their commitment to the 2015 Paris Agreement, which is widely considered a landmark deal for bringing together almost all countries under a common goal.

Climate issues were expected to dominate discussions Friday between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is leading a large delegation of ministers to Brussels, and EU Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Speaking to European business leaders alongside Li, Juncker said EU-China ties are underpinned by "a rules-based international system."

Brussels and Beijing believe in "the full implementation, without nuances, of the Paris climate agreement," Juncker said, and underlined that there can be "no backsliding."

While Trump said the United States would be willing to rejoin the accord if it could obtain more favorable terms, the leaders of France, Germany and Italy said in a joint statement Thursday that the agreement cannot be renegotiated, "since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economics."

Germany's environment minister, Barbara Hendricks, told reporters in Berlin that other countries will fill the leadership vacuum but none will be expected to make up the shortfall in emissions reductions caused by Washington's exit.

Hendricks said the absence of $500 million contributions from the United States to the Green Climate Fund will be felt from 2018, but suggested the gap could be filled with "other financing mechanisms, for example through the World Bank."

The Green Fund is designed to help poor countries adapt to climate change and bypass some of the heavily polluting technologies formerly used by rich countries.

Poor countries are predicted to be among the hardest hit by global warming, with some foreseeing tens of millions of "climate refugees" in coming decades.

South Africa called the U.S. pullout "an abdication of global responsibility."

The government of one of Africa's largest economies said the decision damaged the rule of law and "trust between nations," adding that the U.S. has a "moral obligation" to support poorer countries in the global effort against climate change.

The U.S. decision also prompted irate reactions in Asia and Latin America.

Japan's environment minister, Koichi Yamamoto, said in Tokyo: "I'm not just disappointed, but also feel anger."

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox also criticized Trump's move, saying on Twitter: "He's declaring war on the planet itself."

A top atmospheric scientist at the U.N.'s weather agency said Friday that the "worst-case scenario" caused by the planned U.S. pullout from the Paris climate deal would be a further 0.3-degree Celsius (0.5 Fahrenheit) rise in global temperatures by 2100.

Deon Terblanche of the World Meteorological Organization said the organization hasn't run any new scientific models following Trump's announcement.

The Paris accord aims to prevent average temperature around the world from heating up by more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) before the end of the century, compared to before the start of the industrial age.

Scientists say every fraction of a degree change in average temperatures can lead to noticeable swings in local weather patterns, though exact consequences are difficult to predict.</s>Hong Kong (CNN) It's been a good year for Chinese President Xi Jinping on the international stage.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump handed China the keys and an extra tank of gas -- quitting the Paris climate accord and shifting leadership of global efforts to limit climate change to Asia.

"If you're Xi Jinping, you probably could not have written a better script for how this year could go with Trump essentially retreating across the board on these issues," says Christopher Balding, a professor of economics at Peking University.

"When there's a vacuum, China will step forward and take that."

Even before Trump went public with his decision to ditch the agreement, China, the world's second largest economy, made clear it would stick with the Paris accord while Premier Li Keqiang met with European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, this week.

Three things have changed since then, says Balding. First, reducing pollution has become an important issue domestically -- especially among the growing middle class. Second, China scented economic opportunity in clean energy and pumped money into the sector.

Third, says Balding: "Scientists in China were very diligent and they said look, climate change isn't just some Western conspiracy to keep China down. There's valid evidence."

The country's National Energy Administration said in January that China will spend more than $360 billion through 2020 on renewable technologies such as solar and wind.

China invested more than $88 billion in clean energy in 2016, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, down from an all time high of almost $120 billion in 2015, but still significantly more than the $58.8 billion invested by the US last year.

"I'm hesitant to call it a true leader on climate change but it is a de facto leader. This has fallen into its lap," Balding said.

The moral victory that the US has ceded to China gives Xi a boost at home as well as on the global stage.

China will have its once-every-five years Communist Party National Congress later this year when a new generation of leaders will be revealed -- akin to an election year in the US, says Balding.

"Being able to say that China is more important globally than it was five years ago, that builds morale going into the Fall," he says.

The reputational and geopolitical blow that Trump has dealt to the United States was clearly on view this week in Europe, says Li from Greenpeace.

But for all their new found passion, China and Europe make uneasy bedfellows. There are major questions about the compatibility of their economic systems plus flashpoints over democracy and human rights.

"I think Europe is frustrated with Trump and they want to do business with China and have it on board with climate change but there are big difference in values," says a Beijing professor, who didn't want to be identified speaking on what he described as a sensitive topic.

The professor says Trump's turn inward tarnishes democratic model the US has sought to project elsewhere -- at least from outside the Western world.

"Democracy, at least how its practiced, seems to be underperforming in many areas right now and it's facing harsh criticism. The reputation of China and the China model rises because of this."
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel vow to expand their partnership in combating global climate change.