Trump also announces that the Washington is stopping all contributions to climate fund

  WASHINGTON – In what is considered a huge blow to efforts to minimize global warming, US President Donald Trump said the US is withdrawing from the Paris climate change accord. "We're getting out. The bottom line is that the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States," said Trump in a speech at the White House Rose Garden. Trump also announced the US would stop all contributions to the UN Green Climate Fund, which he claimed was "costing the United States a fortune." Trump said he is open to renegotiating aspects of the climate change agreement but French President Emmanuel Macron said the US cannot renegotiate the agreement on its own. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), for its part, said the agreement "cannot be renegotiated based on the request of a single party." It was the UNFCCC that facilitated the accord. The withdrawal of the US from the climate change pact had been promised by Trump in his presidential run last year. The Paris Agreement was reached at the end of the UNFCCC held in the French capital. It involved the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. Representatives of 195 countries negotiated on the terms of the agreement and they adopted it on Dec. 12, 2015. On April 22, 2016, the Paris Agreement was opened for signature by the UNFCCC members and all of them signed it. As of this month, 148 of the 195 member-countries have ratified the accord. According to Trump, the pact was a "humiliating defeat for American workers that unfairly advantaged foreign countries." "At what point does America get demeaned? At what point do they start laughing at us as a country? We want fair treatment. We don't want other countries and other leaders to laugh at us anymore," he said. Trump said he is open to renegotiating the US carbon reduction commitments but was non-committal to bringing the US back into the deal. He claimed that the agreement put "draconian" financial burdens on the American people. "And we will start to renegotiate and we'll see if there's a better deal. If we can, great. If we can't, that's fine," said Trump. The US withdrawal from the Paris deal would end the implementation of carbon reduction targets set under the Obama administraton, which aimed to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 percent in a decade. Trump had been under pressure from other foreign leaders, business executives and even by his own daughter Ivanka not to withdraw from the Paris Agreement but he gave in to conservatives who described the accord as inimical to the US. "I was elected by the citizens of Pittsburg, not Paris," Trump said. The US withdrawal from the accord would not be a one-shot thing though. The official withdrawal processes will run until November 2020. Meanwhile, former President Obama lamented Trump's decision, saying: "The nations that remain in the Paris Agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created. I believe the United States of America should be at the front of the pack. But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I'm confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up." According to the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Canadian leader told Trump he was disappointed with the decision made by the US President while Macron informed Trump that the Paris accord would not be renegotiated. The UNFCCC secretariat said in a statement that they regret the US withdrawal from the Paris accord. "The Secretariat also notes the announced intention to renegotiate the modalities for the US participation in the agreement. In this regard, it stands ready to engage in dialogue with the United States government regarding the implications of this announcement. The Paris Agreement remains a historic treaty signed by 194 and ratified by 147 counties. Therefore it cannot be renegotiated based on the request of a single Party," the UNFCCC secretariat said. The secretariat said further: "The Paris Agreement is aimed at reducing risk to economies and lives everywhere, while building the foundation for a more prosperous, secure and sustainable world. It enjoys profound credibility, as it was forged by all nations and is supported by a growing wave of business, investors, cities, states, regions and citizens. We are committed to continue working with all governments and partners in their efforts to fast forward climate action at global and national levels." 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