The head of the United Nations climate change program congratulated President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, while urging the new administration not to back out of the Paris climate change agreement.
“Now that the Paris Agreement has entered into force, all countries, along with subnational governments and non-state actors, have the shared responsibility to continue the great progress achieved to date,” said Salaheddine Mezouar, president of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the U.N. framework on climate change.
Mezour has convened a conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, through next week with the U.S. and other countries to hammer out the details of implementing December’s Paris climate deal.
Trump has made leaving the Paris agreement a top item of his first 100 days in the Oval Office.
“The climate change question transcends politics and concerns the preservation of our livelihood, dignity and the only planet on which we all live,” Mezouar said. “We are convinced that all parties will respect their commitments and stay the course in this collective effort.”
Mezouar told Trump that he “will continue to discuss and mobilize in order to pursue progress already made with all parties and in a spirit of inclusiveness and determination,” while extending an invitation to continue those discussions “with the new American administration.”
The Paris climate deal is not a formal treaty, and its obligations are not binding. The deal went into effect four days before the U.S. elections, which many countries agree would make it increasingly difficult for the U.S. to back out of, securing the inclusion of the second-largest emitter in the world under the agreement. Many scientists blame greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels for driving man-made climate change.
Many of the regulations that the Obama administration put forth to meet its obligations to reduce carbon pollution under the deal Trump has targeted for reversal.
“As the new Trump administration comes into office, America must press forward with critical issues that are at the heart of people’s well-being and future prosperity,” said Andrew Steer, the CEO of the environmental think tank World Resources Institute.
“One of the clearest messages from the campaign is that America must address inequality within our society and reshape our economy so that all people can thrive,” Steer said. “As a businessman, President-elect Trump needs to understand that investing in clean energy creates jobs and drives innovation. America has numerous opportunities to create a modern, high-efficiency economy that is suited for the 21st century.”
