G7 Energy Ministers Fail to Agree on Climate

Rome – G7 energy ministers failed to reach agreement on a joint statement on climate change on Monday after the United States expressed reservations, an Italian minister said.

The United States “reserved its position” on the text about commitments made by G7 countries under the 2015 Paris climate accord, said Carlo Calenda, the Italian minister for economic development, who chaired the meeting in Rome.

Lacking unanimity, Italy, which currently presides the Group of Seven, decided against proposing the joint statement, Calenda said.

The Paris Agreement, endorsed by members of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is a bedrock of international action against man-made global warming.

In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order rolling back some of the previous Democratic administration’s policies on carbon emissions and climate change.

The Group of Seven, gathering the biggest western democracies, comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.