Germany not mulling sanctions against US after Trump’s climate pact withdrawal

WASHINGTON, Jun 02: Germany has already made its displeasure evident after US’ withdrawal from the landmark Paris climate accord, with Chancellor Angela Merkel terming US President Donald Trump’s move “highly regrettable, to put it very mildly”. In a strongly-worded statement, Merkel had said: “This decision cannot and will not stop those of us who feel obligated to protect our Earth.” But despite Trump’s decision to pull out, Germany is not looking to press sanctions against the US. German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert, who was responding to a question about economic sanctions on US, today told Reuters,”I think we can say that’s not part of the German government’s policy.”
In what was one of the most nervously-anticipated announcements in recent times, Trump had said: “In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord.” The US President argued that the accord is unfair to the United States of America, while it puts no “meaningful obligations” on the “world’s leading polluters”. He took the example of China and India when he said, “For example, under the agreement, China will be able to increase these emissions by a staggering number of years — 13. They can do whatever they want for 13 years. Not us. India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries. There are many other examples. But the bottom line is that the Paris Accord is very unfair, at the highest level, to the United States.”
Dealing a big blow to the Paris accord, Trump eventually announced: “We are getting out, but we will start to negotiate and we will see if we can make a deal that is fair. If we can, that’s great. If we can’t, that’s fine.” However, the President made it clear that it could possibly re-enter the climate agreement if the deal were more favourable for Americans. he further justified his decision terming his decision as one made in the best interest of his country.
May other US allies expressed alarm at US’ decision to back out, with leaders of France, Germany, and Italy noted with regret Trump’s decision to do so. U.N. Environment chief Erik Solheim says the decision by President Donald Trump to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord “in no way brings an end to this unstoppable effort.”
Agencies