MARRAKESH, Morocco: Fears that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will pull out of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming pushed almost 200 nations at climate talks in Morocco on Thursday to declare action an “urgent duty”.
Trump has called man-made global warming a hoax and has said he will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which seeks to wean the global economy off fossil fuels this century with a shift to renewable energies such as wind and solar power.
In a statement, the ministers at the meeting said momentum for cutting greenhouse gases was “irreversible” and reaffirmed their commitment to “full implementation” of the Paris accord.
“We call for the highest political commitment to combat climate change, as a matter of urgent priority,” they said in the Marrakesh Action Proclamation.
“Our climate is warming at an alarming and unprecedented rate and we have an urgent duty to respond,” it said. Delegates applauded, joined hands above their heads in standing ovation after the proclamation was read out.