BERLIN (Sputnik) — American activists at international climate talks in Bonn, Germany have delivered a petition signed by more than 1 million Americans who want the United States to uphold the Paris climate agreement.
The UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) is being held on November 6-17 in Bonn under the chairmanship of Fiji. The conference is attended by Governor of California Jerry Brown, whom climate advocates consider Trump's major rival in the fight against global warming. California, along with other US states, communes and businesses, is a part of the United States Climate Alliance, which was established in June. Its members have pledged to adhere to Paris deal, despite Trump's announcement of US withdrawal from it.
"I would like to greet [this alliance] because it emphasizes the importance of climate protection in major part of the United States, despite President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement," Merkel told the conference.
The Paris climate agreement, signed by more than 190 countries and ratified by 162, was adopted within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2015 and came into force in November 2016. The main goal of the Paris climate agreement is to tackle climate change by keeping a global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
In early June, Trump announced that the United States would be withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. Officially, Washington notified the United Nations of its withdrawal on August 4.
