- Title: U.S. scientist turns back on Trump to fight climate change in France
- Date: 12th December 2017
- Summary: BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE (DECEMBER 12, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CANTRELL TALKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SCIENTIST CHRISTOPHER CANTRELL, SAYING: "It was all over the news in the United States and social media so I was... and I keep my eyes out as a scientist, looking for opportunities to support my research so this was an opportunity." CANTRELL DURING
- Embargoed: 26th December 2017 17:19
- Keywords: One Planet Summit Macron Trump scientists grant
- Location: PARIS AND BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: PARIS AND BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: France
- Topics: Environment,Climate Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0047BM1IYV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: When Christopher Cantrell, a professor from Colorado, heard Donald Trump announce he was to pull out of the Paris climate change accord, little did he know that six months later he would be shaking the French president's hand and starting a new life in France.
Only a few hours after Trump's decision last June, President Emmanuel Macron made a dramatic TV announcement in English, saying that he would not give up the fight against climate change and adding in a dig: "Make our planet great again".
That later became the name of a research grant programme sponsored by the French presidency to attract U.S.-based scientists to France -- like Cantrell, an expert in stratospheric chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
"It was all over the news in the United States and social media," he told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a summit in Paris marking the U.N. climate accord's two year anniversary.
Cantrell's research specialises in air pollution and how it interacts with forests around the capital. He is currently taking lessons in French and adapting to city life.
Macron, who repeatedly tried to persuade the U.S. leader to reverse his decision, also saw an opportunity in Trump's decision to raise French universities' profile in the global competition to lure talents.
This week, he unveiled the laureates of the initial 18 grants that will be awarded to scientists. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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