By Reuters
PARIS - France will not accept a final G20 communique that does not mention the Paris climate change agreement, said an official at the Elysee office of French President Emmanuel Macron.
FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a news conference after the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 21, 2019. (REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/MANILA BULLETIN)
“I’ve heard a lot of people say ‘I have red lines’, and there are a lot of people who are saying that they no longer want to sign G7 or G20 communique because there are these red lines,” said the official.
“As for myself, I have one red line. If we don’t talk about the Paris Agreement and if we don’t get an agreement on it amongst the 20 members in the room, we are no longer capable of defending our climate change goals, and France will not be part of this, it’s as simple as that,” added the official.
France was the driver behind the 2016 Paris Agreement to limit global warming, and the French parliament is now debating an energy bill that targets net zero emissions by 2050.
The G20 group of 20 major economies held a summit in Japan this weekend.