PARIS — France removed climate change from the agenda of this week’s G7 talks to prevent a rift with the United States, according to a French government official.
Environment ministers from the G7 nations are meeting in Paris Thursday and Friday to discuss issues ranging from biodiversity to water resources.
But the French hosts deliberately avoided putting global warming on the agenda to appease the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, who has dismissed climate change as a “con job” and withdrawn his country from several international climate bodies.
“We have chosen not to tackle the climate issue head-on,” an adviser to French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut told reporters. “Why? Because the United States’ positions on this issue are well known, and we felt … that tackling this issue head-on with the United States within the G7 framework would not send a message of unity.”
“We chose to focus on less contentious issues,” said the adviser, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
Despite those efforts, the U.S. chose not to send a high-level representative to Paris. Washington is represented instead by Usha-Maria Turner, an assistant administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The other six countries sent their ministers.
“The French government’s approach is understandable,” said a government official from Germany, whose Environment Minister Carsten Schneider traveled to Paris for the meeting.
“In addition to the climate crisis, there are many other environmental issues with global implications, including the protection of water resources and biodiversity,” the official said. “It’s important that the U.S. is kept engaged in the relevant international negotiations on solutions in these areas.”
“The U.S. government has at least now been persuaded to convene a separate G20 meeting of environment ministers,” the official added. The U.S. currently holds the G20 presidency. An environment ministerial is not yet on the public calendar.
Climate campaigners, however, lambasted France’s stance, especially given Barbut’s complaints about the outcome of last year’s COP climate talks as not ambitious enough.
“It’s a paradox to lament the outcome of the COP but when you’re in control of the agenda not use it to address the elephant in the room,” said Fanny Petitbon, France team lead of nonprofit 350.org. “For us, it’s a huge disappointment.”
A version of this article was first published by POLITICO in French.
Europa Monitor is a seasoned News Editor with over a decade of experience in journalism. Known for his editorial expertise and commitment to accuracy, Europa Monitor leads teams to deliver high-quality news content.
