The head of the Environmental Protection Agency has said America has nothing to apologise for on climate change and retains a seat at the negotiating table, claiming: “After all, we’re the United States.”

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Scott Pruitt joined other officials in declining to say whether Donald Trump believes human activity contributes to climate change, a day after the president pulled America out of the landmark Paris agreement.

Pruitt claimed Trump wants better terms within the Paris framework or an entirely new deal, and dismissed warnings from world leaders that it is not negotiable.

“Well, that’s up to them, right?” the EPA administrator told reporters. “The United States has a seat at the table. After all, we’re the United States and we are leading with respect to CO2 reduction. We have made tremendous progress.

“If nations around the globe want to seek to learn from us on what we’re doing to reduce our CO2 footprint, we’re going to share that with them, and that’s something that should occur and will occur in the future. We will reach out and reciprocate with nations that seek to achieve that.”

Trump announced on Thursday that the US, the world’s second biggest greenhouse gas emitter, would immediately stop implementing the 195-nation agreement brokered by Barack Obama in 2015. There was a global backlash, and the EU said on Friday it will increase cooperation with China to combat climate change.

Pruitt denied that America has abandoned the victims of climate change around the world, arguing that it has done “a tremendous amount” to reduce carbon output to 1990s levels and will stay engaged and continue to export relevant technology.

“This is not a message to anyone in the world that America should be apologetic of its CO2 position. We’re actually making tremendous advances. We’re just not going to agree to frameworks and agreements that put us at an economic disadvantage and hurt citizens across this country.”

He echoed Trump’s attack on members of the agreement as having economic rather than environmental motives. “The world applauded when we joined Paris, and you know why? I think they applauded because they knew it was going to put this country at an economic disadvantage, and the reason European leaders want us to stay in is because they know it will continue to shackle our economy, though we are leading the world with respect to our CO2 reduction.”

The EPA administrator was asked repeatedly whether Trump believes climate change is a hoax, as Trump previously claimed, but refused to give a straight answer. “There’s enough to deal with with respect to the Paris agreement and making an informed decision about this important issue,” he said. “That’s where our focus has been the last several weeks.”

For his own part, Pruitt acknowledged that global warming is occurring, and that “human activity contributes to it in some manner”. But he added: “Measuring with precision, from my perspective, the degree of human contribution is very challenging.”

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, was similarly evasive on the topic. Asked if he can talk to Trump about the cause of climate change and report back at the next press briefing, he replied: “If I can, I will.”

Spicer gave short shrift to suggestions that Trump’s decision will lift China as a global leader. “I think part of the reason the president said it was a bad deal yesterday was because countries including China were not making substantial progress in reducing their carbon footprint.

“They weren’t doing enough and America was carrying the load, so I think by negotiating a better deal, hopefully we can get a better result for our country and the world.”

Nicaragua and Syria are the only countries not party to the Paris accord; the former says it is not ambitious enough. Under a long exit process, America’s withdrawal will not be become formal until November 2020.