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Wednesday 13 december 2017

Paris hosts major climate summit - and it’s all about Trump

By THOMAS ADAMSON mer investment banker, ar-
PHILIPPE SOTTO gues that the big businesses
Associated Press and successful economies
PARIS (AP) — The global of the future will be making
climate summit in Paris was and using renewable en-
designed to bypass Donald ergy instead of oil.
Trump, but the U.S. presi- The projects announced
dent ended up playing a Tuesday include a pro-
starring role. gram for eight U.S. states to
Trump became the unwit- develop electric vehicles,
ting villain as world leaders, an investment fund for the
investors and other Ameri- hurricane-hit Caribbean
cans assailed him Tuesday and money from Gates’
for rejecting the Paris cli- foundation to help farmers
mate accord. adapt to climate change
To emphasize their point — and develop low-carbon
and prevent others from technology.
following his lead — they The projects also aim to
announced more than speed up the end of the
$1 billion in investments to combustion engine to re-
make it easier for countries duce the emissions that
and industries to give up oil contribute to global warm-
and coal. British Prime Minister Theresa May is welcomed by French President before a lunch at the Elysee ing. Activists kept up pres-
French President Emmanu- Palace in Paris, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. More than 50 world leaders are gathering in Paris for a sure with protests — includ-
el Macron used the summit summit that Macron hopes will give new momentum to the fight against global warming, despite ing one on a bridge at the
to seize the global spotlight, U.S. President Donald Trump’s rejection of the Paris climate accord. summit venue, an island in
capitalizing on Trump’s iso- (AP Photo/Francois Mori) the Seine River — calling
lationist policies and Ger- “It’s time to act and move the “very concrete” com- added. Bill Gates, Richard for companies and gov-
man Chancellor Angela faster and win this battle” mitments made by the par- Branson and other energy ernments to stop investing
Merkel’s domestic weak- against climate change, ticipants. executives and investment in oil and coal now.
ness to position himself as he told the more than 50 “We started today to make fund leaders announced Top officials agreed with
the world’s moral compass world leaders and others up some ground in this bat- a dozen international proj- them, saying the global
on climate change. gathered in Paris. tlefield,” he said in his clos- ects emerging from the financial system isn’t shift-
“We’re not moving fast After opening the summit ing speech. Today’s com- summit that will inject mon- ing fast enough away from
enough,” Macron said, on a pessimistic note, Ma- mitments will be able to ey into efforts to curb cli- carbon emissions and to-
warning that the 2015 Paris cron was more encourag- be tracked and verified on mate change. ward renewable energy
climate accord is “fragile.” ing at the closing, praising a dedicated platform, he World Bank President Jim and business projects.
Yong Kim won rousing “Financial pledges need
applause when he an- to flow faster through more
nounced that his agency streamlined system and
would stop financing oil make a difference on the
and gas projects in two ground,” said Fiji’s Prime
years. Minister Frank Bainimara-
The summit, co-hosted by ma, whose island nation is
the U.N., the World Bank among those on the front
and Macron, was held on lines of the rising sea levels
the second anniversary of and extreme storms wors-
the Paris climate accord, ened by human-made
which was ratified by 170 emissions.
countries. More than 50 “We are all in the same
heads of state and govern- canoe,” rich countries and
ment took part. poor, he said.
Trump wasn’t invited, but Japanese Foreign Minister
he was ubiquitous. Taro Kono described ways
One by one, officials in- his country is investing in cli-
cluding former California mate monitoring technol-
Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneg- ogy and hydrogen energy,
ger, billionaire Michael but he said, “We have to
Bloomberg and former U.S. do more and better.”
Secretary of State John Bloomberg, the former
Kerry insisted the world will New York mayor, said envi-
shift to cleaner fuels and ronmentalists owed Trump
reduce emissions regard- a debt of “gratitude” for
less of whether the Trump acting as a “rallying cry”
administration pitches in. for action on climate
Central to the summit was change. Bloomberg said
countering Trump’s main the private sector coalition
argument that the 2015 called “America’s Pledge,”
Paris accord on reducing that promises to honor the
global emissions would hurt climate goals set in 2015,
U.S. business. “now represents half of the
Macron, a 39-year-old for- U.S. economy.”q