With no progress made on climate action, the Taormina G7, which closed in Sicily on Saturday 27 May, will go down in history as the six versus one G7. The leaders of the world’s richest countries were unable to persuade Donald Trump, the president of the country with the second highest level of emissions, China being the worst emitter, to stick to the commitments made by his predecessor on climate. This came as no surprise as it was already known that the US president would wait until after the G7 to give himself time to come to his decision, which is now expected this week (see EUROPE 11793).
The European Union was under no illusions (see EUROPE 11795). Even before the summit, European Council President Donald Tusk, while stating that the EU’s role was “to do everything to maintain the unity of the G7 on all fronts”, in particular on that of climate, did not seek to conceal that success at the G7 remained “an open question”.
Although French President Emmanuel Macron said that there is much still to play for, preferring to speak of “real discussions and real exchanges” rather than failure, German Chancellor Angela Merkel felt the discussion was “not at all satisfactory”.
It is a failure that the final communique of G7 documents, stating that the heads of state and/or government of six countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and United Kingdom) and the Presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission “reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement” and underlining the importance of supporting developing countries, while one single country – the United States of America – “is not in a position to join the consensus” as it is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement.
No plan B. For the European Union, this is a time of some uncertainty, the European Commission said on Monday 29 May. Responding to press questions on whether the EU was considering a plan B in the event of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said: “The facts are clearly set out in the final communique of the G7. … We are waiting to see how the American review will turn out”.
It was the isolation of the United States that most struck civil society, keen to emphasise the renewed commitment of six out of the seven partners, rather than the possible defection of the seventh.
“In the face of US resistance, six major leaders stood together to deliver a message of determination around climate action. Only one – President Trump – stood apart. This is unfortunate for the world, but it’s even worse for the US”, stated Andrew Steer, President of the World Resources Institute (WRI).
“Europe, Canada and Japan made a stand, revealing again how far Trump is out of step with the rest of the world on climate change. ... Leaders must now keep resolve and ensure that the G20 signals even greater climate ambition. President Trump should now return to Washington and make the right decision, take climate change seriously and take action with the rest of the world”, urged Jennifer Morgan, Greenpeace International Executive Director. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)