Angela Merkel has responded to Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement and that she will continue efforts to tackle global warming.

A statement released by Ms Merkel's spokesperson on Twitter said she was "disappointed w/ Pres Trump's decision. Now more than ever we will work for global climate policies that save our planet".

Mr Trump announced on Thursday the US would withdraw from the accords, which he cast as a ploy by other global powers to gain "financial advantage" over America.

He said he would try to re-negotiate a better deal for the US because the agreements would have threatened US "sovereignty".

But Ms Merkel issued a joint statement alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni that said the agreement could not be re-negotiated.

The trio said: "We deem the momentum generated in Paris in December 2015 irreversible and we firmly believe that the Paris Agreement cannot be renegotiated, since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economies."

Trump announces exit from the Paris climate agreement

The United Nations called Mr Trump's decision "a major disappointment".

Mr Trump, who had made pulling out of the pact — which has been signed by most of the world's — a central plank of his run for the presidency, said that in withdrawing he was “keeping his campaign promise to put American workers first”.

He said he wants to talk to citizens of “Pittsburgh, not Paris” to cheers in the crowd of the Rose Garden at the White House.