France says 'regrets' US pullout from Paris climate pact

[SHANGHAI] France on Tuesday lamented the US decision to formally notify the United Nations that it was withdrawing from the Paris climate accord.

While the move was expected, "we regret this and it makes the Franco-Chinese partnership on climate and biodiversity even more necessary", the French presidency said as President Emmanuel Macron was on an official trip to China.

Macron and President Xi Jinping will sign a joint document on climate during talks in Beijing on Wednesday that will declare the "irreversibility of the Paris accord", the French presidency said.

President Donald Trump went ahead with the pullout despite mounting evidence of the reality and impact of climate change, with September the fourth month in the row with near- or record-breaking temperatures.

The United States presented its withdrawal letter to the United Nations on the first possible date under the accord negotiated by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.

It will be officially out of the Paris accord on November 4, 2020, one day after the US election in which Trump is seeking a second term.

Announcing the move, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated Mr Trump's remarks in 2017 that the agreement imposed an "unfair economic burden" on the United States.

AFP