German Chancellor
Angela Merkel urged G20 leaders in Hamburg on July 7 to compromise at the start of talks on climate and trade as US President
Donald Trump has said he will pull out of the Paris accord, causing
widespread
concern in the EU and many countries around the world. “It’s going to
be really difficult. It’s them against Trump at the moment,”
Justin Urquhart Stewart,
director at Seven Investment Management in London, told New Europe on
July 7 as the summit kicked off. “It’s sort of the legion of the sane
trying to stay together on the basis they can’t trust what he’s saying
and doing,” he said, adding that the EU is united on trade and climate.
“What’s fascinating is seeing how strong they think they are at the
moment against the States and, of course, and with China as well. So
it’s the States that actually find themselves the odd one out at the
moment – not so much the States as Mr Trump – but that’s going to be the
problem,” Urquhart Stewart said.
Jeff Mankoff, fellow and
deputy director of the Russia & Eurasia Program at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC, told New
Europe on July 7 that the German and the other major powers are annoyed
with Trump for pulling the US out of the Paris accord.
“The US has become predictably
unpredictable. What gets said depends on the context and who within the
administration seems to have the pen at any particular moment and it’s
just very uncertain and I think US allies and other members of the G20
are increasingly going to factor that unpredictability into their own
calculations in dealing with the US,” Mankoff said.
At the start of a working lunch at which
the G20 were to discuss global growth and trade, Merkel admitted that
there are “millions of people following us with their concerns, their
fears and their needs, who hope that we can make a contribution to
solving the problems”. “I am absolutely sure that everyone will make an
effort to achieve good results,” AP quoted Merkel as saying.
Merkel was shown talking casually with Russian President
Vladimir Putin as the leaders entered the hall, then joining French President
Emmanuel Macron in a three-way discussion with Trump, who was seated between Chinese leader
Xi Jinping and Britain’s
Theresa May, Reuters reported.
“We all know the big global challenges
and we know that time is pressing,” Merkel told the group. “And so
solutions can only be found if we are ready for compromise and move
toward each other, but without – and I stress this – bending too much,
because of course we can also state clearly when there are differences,”
she added.
European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker, along with European Council President
Donald Tusk, represented the EU at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany.
Ahead of the G20 summit, Tusk and Juncker
sent a joint letter to EU Heads of State or Government on their
priorities. In the letter, they highlighted that more than ever the EU
has become a global point of reference for all those who value the
principles of liberal democracy and human rights, free and fair trade or
concrete actions in facing global challenges, such as climate change,
poverty, terrorism and illegal migration.
“A strong and determined Union is the
best way to promote our values and interests, to support a rules-based
multilateral system, and ultimately to protect and defend citizens. With
this in mind we will participate in the G20 Summit in Hamburg later
this week,” they said.
In their letter, Tusk and Juncker set out
the EU’s goals: The G20’s key role in making the global economy work
for all; Bolstering an open and fair rules-based multilateral trading
system; Demonstrating that ambitious climate action is good for economic
growth and jobs; Tapping the potential of the digital revolution; 5.
Advancing the global fight against tax avoidance and evasion; Stepping
up efforts to fight terrorism and terrorist financing; Aiming for a more
resilient international monetary and financial system; Sharing
responsibility for refugees and migrants; Partnering with Africa for
investment, growth and jobs.
Regarding climate change, they expressed
the EU’s regret the decision by the US Administration to withdraw from
the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
“The Agreement remains a corner stone for
global efforts to effectively tackle climate change and implement the
2030 Agenda for sustainable development and we consider that it cannot
be re-negotiated. We will reassure the international community that the
EU remains steadfastly determined to swiftly and fully implement the
Paris Agreement and accelerate the low-carbon transition, as well as to
support our partners, in particular the vulnerable countries in the
fight against climate change,” they said.
“We will work with all partners who share
our conviction that the Agreement is necessary to protect our planet,
is fit for purpose, and is good for economic growth and future jobs. We
will support an ambitious G20 Joint Action Plan on Climate and Energy
for Growth. We will also welcome further work on green finance and a
dialogue on ways to improve resource efficiency and to tackle marine
litter,” Tusk and Juncker said.
Meanwhile, France called for a higher EU
climate target. The new French climate action plan states that France
will push the EU to increase ambition of its emission reduction targets
in light of the results of the UN facilitative dialogue in 2018,
according to Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe.
The French government acknowledges that this is part of implementing the Paris Agreement.
In Paris countries committed to staying “well” below 2°C, while pursuing efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Countries also recognised that the
contributions they had prepared for the Paris negotiations, which
included the EU’s pledge to reduce emissions by at least 40%, would lead
to global emissions of at least 55 GtCO2-e by 2030. At the same time,
the absolute maximum level of emissions for staying below 2°C would be
40 GtCO2-e.
To close this emissions gap, the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) called upon all countries to reduce
their 2030 emissions by at least another 25%.
In the margins of the summit, Juncker and Tusk were expected to meet among others Australia’s Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull, Argentina’s Prime Minister
Mauricio Macri,
whose country takes over the rotating G20 Presidency from Germany later
this year. Juncker was also expected to meet bilaterally with Putin.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/eu-stands-united-climate-trade/