- Title: France's Hollande says U.S. "must respect commitments"
- Date: 16th November 2016
- Summary: MARRAKESH, MOROCCO (NOVEMBER 16, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PALAIS DU ROYAL WITH AFRICA ACTION SUMMIT SIGNS SIGN READING (English): "AFRICA ACTION SUMMIT" FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, ARRIVING HOLLANDE WALKING ON STAGE FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, SAYING: "The awareness is there about the commitments of one and another, to speak clearly, the commitments of President Donald Trump. When I say it is irreversible it’s not like you can just stop it. This movement is underway and it is shared by the people and the American people." JOURNALIST ASKING HOLLANDE QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, SAYING: "In Paris $100 billion were announced by all the participants and the actors, the will to achieve this amount. As far as France is concerned, it will mobilize $5 billion and then we've done more than our share." PEOPLE LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE BACKDROP READING (English): "MARRAKECH 2016"
- Embargoed: 1st December 2016 21:51
- Keywords: climate change Marrakesh Francois Hollande John Kerry Africa Action Summit
- Location: MARRAKESH, MOROCCO
- City: MARRAKESH, MOROCCO
- Country: Morocco
- Topics: Environment,Climate Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00158P4D3B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:French President Francois Hollande reiterated on Wednesday (November 16), that the climate change Paris pact is irreversible, stepping up warnings to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about the risks of quitting a 2015 global plan to combat climate change.
When I say it is irreversible it's not like you can just stop it. This movement is underway and it is shared by the people and the American people," he told journalists during a conference in Marrakesh.
Almost 200 nations are meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco as part of a Climate Summit on ways to slow global warming.
Hollande said that France is mobilising $5 billion as part of the global goal of reaching $100 billion before 2020 doing "more than their share".
The Paris deal was agreed by almost 200 governments last year after two decades of tortuous negotiations. The accord formally entered into force on November 4 after a record swift ratification.
But Trump has called climate change a hoax, and said he would rip up the Paris deal, halt any U.S. taxpayer funds for U.N. global warming programs, and revive the U.S. coal sector.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had hoped his presence at a Marrakesh conference to decide on the finer points of a historic agreement to stave off climate change would be a victory lap.
Instead, he found himself having to address the uncertainty created by the election of Trump and what his presidency might mean for the U.S. commitment to the 2015 Paris agreement to cut global greenhouse gas emissions.
For now, the United States is proceeding as usual. The White House presented a plan in Marrakesh, in the works long before Trump's victory, for a "deep decarbonisation" of the U.S. economy by 2050 that foresees an 80 percent cut in emissions from 2005 levels.
It is unclear what Trump will do on climate policy. On other issues, he has made contradictory statements and has said unpredictability is an asset in international negotiations.
Trump denied during a debate with his election rival Hillary Clinton that he had called climate change a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, but in speeches and on Twitter he has repeatedly called it a hoax. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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