World Leaders Increase Pressure on Trump to Stay in the Paris Accord
Andrew Light, who was a senior climate change adviser at the State Department under President Barack Obama, said the other leaders at the summit meeting — representing the G7 members Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan
and the United Kingdom, along with the European Union — would go home frustrated "if Trump blows this thing up and continues to sit on the fence." The other leaders confronted Mr. Trump on climate change as soon as he arrived in Europe.
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and CORAL DAVENPORTMAY 26, 2017
TAORMINA, Sicily — World leaders on Friday intensified their pressure on President Trump to keep the United States in the Paris climate agreement,
as negotiators for seven Western powers labored to bridge differences between Mr. Trump and his counterparts before they depart on Saturday.
Faced with repeated pleas by allies during private meetings at this two-day summit meeting of the Group of 7 countries, Mr. Trump remained unyielding in his assertion
that the United States would do whatever is best for the United States — including the possibility of withdrawing from the 2015 pact signed with 195 nations, aides said.
The other leaders were said to be wary of how they spoke to the American president, concerned
that they could anger him easily, which could result in his deciding to pull the United States out of the Paris agreement after he returns home.
Mr. Cohn insisted that the president was willing to listen to his counterparts, saying, "He’s heard arguments
that are persuasive on both sides." But the president has long been on the record lashing out against the Paris climate agreement, insisting that it is bad for American businesses and will cost jobs in the United States.
It remained unclear on Friday night whether a joint statement, if one is issued, would result in a clear commitment by the United States to stay in the accord, or a vague message leaving open the possibility
that Mr. Trump could still decide to end American participation in the global agreement.
