G7 talks end with gap between US, other states

Monday’s meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) ministers saw them agree to language on a variety of environmental topics. However, they also stated that the United States was not like the other six countries in confronting climate change.

A 15-page communiqué was released after the ministerial summit, Xinhua reported. It made clear that there was a large gap in climate stance between the US and six other countries.

This statement is the latest sign of the growing divide between the US economy and the major economies of other countries when it comes to prioritizing climate change and supporting the world’s transition to cleaner energy. It was made after US President Donald Trump announced that he would abandon the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on June 1.

Trump’s main envoy at the G7 ministerial negotiations in Bologna was Scott Pruitt, the director of the Environmental Protection Agency. He left the talks to go back to Washington just a few hours following his arrival.

Minister of Economy Gian Lucia Galletti, from Italy, stated that ministers had “agreed to everything except climate” in his remarks at the end of the talks.