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  World   Europe  28 Jan 2018  If treaty undergoes major change, we would get back: Trump on Paris climate accord

If treaty undergoes major change, we would get back: Trump on Paris climate accord

AFP
Published : Jan 28, 2018, 10:18 am IST
Updated : Jan 28, 2018, 10:20 am IST

Paris accord was agreed to by 197 nations in 2015 after negotiations in Paris, where countries made voluntary pledges running to 2030.

While the president remains firm in his criticism of the historic accord, which was signed by his predecessor Barack Obama, he said he would be willing to sign up to a revamped deal. (Photo: AP)
 While the president remains firm in his criticism of the historic accord, which was signed by his predecessor Barack Obama, he said he would be willing to sign up to a revamped deal. (Photo: AP)

London: President Donald Trump would be willing to sign the US back up to the Paris climate accord, but only if the treaty undergoes major change, he said in comments published on Sunday.

Trump was met with global condemnation when he announced in June 2017 that the United States was pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, painting it a "bad deal" for the US economy.

Read Also: US could ‘conceivably’ return to Paris climate agreement: Trump

While the president remains firm in his criticism of the historic accord, which was signed by his predecessor Barack Obama, he said he would be willing to sign up to a revamped deal.

"The Paris accord, for us, would have been a disaster," he told Britain's ITV channel in an interview to be aired late on Sunday.

"If they made a good deal... there's always a chance we'd get back," Trump added, describing the current agreement as "terrible" and "unfair" to the US.

The landmark treaty was agreed by 197 nations in 2015 after intense negotiations in Paris, where all countries made voluntary carbon-cutting pledges running to 2030.

"If somebody said, go back into the Paris accord, it would have to be a completely different deal because we had a horrible deal," Trump said, according to extracts of the interview. "Would I go back in? Yeah, I'd go back in... I would love to," the president added.

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Earlier in January, Trump said the US could "conceivably" return to the deal under more favourable terms, raising questions about whether he was bluffing about pulling out of the Paris deal in a bid for easier emissions targets.

Tags: donald trump, paris climate accord, paris climate deal, us economy, barack obama
Location: United Kingdom, England, London