U.S. clarifies stance after Montreal meet

The White House pushed back Saturday at a European suggestion it was softening its stance on the Paris climate accord, insisting Washington will withdraw from the agreement unless it can re-enter on more favourable terms. The remark came as Environment Ministers from some 30 countries gathered in Montreal seeking headway on the Paris climate accord, which President Donald Trump had pulled out of in June.

At the summit, which was attended by a U.S. observer, the U.S. “stated that they will not renegotiate the Paris Accord, but they (will) try to review the terms on which they could be engaged under this agreement,” the European Union (EU)’s top climate official Miguel Arias Canete said.

The White House insisted that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate accord without more favourable terms.

“As the President has made abundantly clear, the United States is withdrawing unless we can re-enter on terms that are more favourable to our country,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.