MOnitoring desk
\nOSAKA
\nWashington is pressuring allies at the G20 to reject strong climate change language in the meeting\u2019s final statement, despite furious opposition from EU countries, a French presidential source said Friday.
\n\u201cThree or four (countries) are under American pressure to water down the message,\u201d a French presidency source told reporters in Osaka, where leaders of the Group of 20 are holding a two-day summit.
\nThe source declined to name the countries being targeted by Washington.
\nClimate change is shaping up to be one of the most contentious issues at gathering, with Europe fiercely opposed to any watering down of previous G20 statements on the subject
\nWashington is opposed to any endorsement of the Paris climate deal, an agreement from which it plans to withdraw.
\nIn recent years, the roadblock has been overcome by 19 of the members endorsing language backing the Paris deal and Washington adding its own line referring to its plan to leave the agreement.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s what we managed to get after a difficult fight in Hamburg and Buenos Aires, and what we want to confirm here, at a minimum,\u201d the source told reporters.
\n\u201cThe Americans are trying to weaken the message and to rally to their position a number of states,\u201d the source added.
\n\u201cThat would mean no longer 19+1 but 18+2 or 17+3… and that for us is unacceptable.\u201d
\nAt a meeting in Osaka on the summit sidelines on Friday, European leaders agreed that \u201cwe cannot accept a text that waters down what we got during the last two G20s and weakens the Paris accords,\u201d the source said.
\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron has already said that removing a reference to the Paris deal would be a \u201cred line\u201d for Paris, threatening to refuse to sign the final communique.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOnitoring desk OSAKA Washington is pressuring allies at the G20 to reject strong climate change language in the meeting\u2019s final statement, despite furious opposition from EU countries, a French presidential source said Friday. \u201cThree or four (countries) are under American pressure to water down the message,\u201d a French presidency source told reporters in Osaka, where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n