US will continue participation in climate talks

BONN, Germany — A senior U.S. diplomat says Washington will continue to take part in talks about implementing the Paris climate accord, despite President Donald Trump’s threat to pull out of the pact.

Trump announced in June that the United States will withdraw from the 2015 Paris agreement unless he can get a better deal for the United States.

Trigg Talley, the U.S. deputy special envoy for climate change, told delegates at the opening of the U.N. climate talks in Bonn, Germany, on Monday that “we will continue to participate in international climate change negotiations and meetings, including ongoing negotiations related to guidance for implementing the Paris agreement.”

He added: “We look forward to working with colleagues and partners to advance the work here over these two weeks and beyond.”

Germany’s environment minister declared the Paris accord to combat climate change is “irreversible” as negotiators gather to discuss how to implement the agreement.

The two-week meeting that started Monday is the first major conference on climate change since President Donald Trump said that the U.S. will pull out of the Paris accord unless his administration can secure a better deal. Other nations are vowing to press ahead with the accord.

German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks told negotiators that “we have to make significant progress on implementing the Paris agreement here.”

She added: “The Paris agreement is irreversible. We now have to do everything in our power to implement it and we do not have much time left.”