The G7 summit has ended in Sicily following two days of discussions regarding the state of the world economy, foreign policy, climate change, and other major global issues. During the meeting, representatives from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Union reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris agreement, with the exception of the United States.
The leaders issued a collective statement at the close of the talks, saying that they have committed to “strengthening our collective energy security and ensuring open, transparent, liquid, and secure global markets for energy resources and technologies.” However, it also noted that the “United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris agreement, and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics.”
On Saturday, President Donald Trump tweeted that a decision regarding the Paris agreement will come next week.
The US signed on to the Paris agreement in September, something that then-candidate Trump said he would cancel once in office. Earlier this month, however, the White House said that the president would make a final decision regarding the US’s commitment after he met with his counterparts at this week’s summit.
During the meeting, the other heads of state pressed Trump to commit to remaining in the agreement, in an attempt to come to a consensus before the end of the event. The US’s absence in the consensus shows a stark divide between the US and the other nations. However, US officials reportedly were looking for ways to remain in the agreement, asking for language that would placate US coal producers, and for ways to lower its emissions levels to below the ones set by the Obama administration in 2016.