Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
A guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world.
Argentina announced on Thursday it would “reassess” its role in global climate talks after withdrawing from the COP29 summit, prompting President Donald Trump to threaten to pull the South American country out of the landmark Paris Agreement. There was growing concern that the country would be the first to follow suit.
The Trump campaign has vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord when it returns to the White House, just as it did during its first term, and ministers and negotiators at COP29 in Azerbaijan have agreed to join other populist leaders. There are concerns that others may follow suit.
Argentina’s liberal President Javier Millay withdrew his country’s negotiating delegation to the United Nations climate change summit in Baku on Wednesday, a day after speaking by phone with President Donald Trump.
After taking office last year, Millay demoted Argentina’s environment portfolio to subdivisional level as part of sweeping fiscal austerity measures and a sharp ideological recalibration of the country’s environmental and foreign policies. He said anthropogenic climate change was a “socialist lie”.
“(The withdrawal of the COP29 delegation) will allow the new foreign minister to reassess the situation and reflect on our position,” Spokesman Millais told a news conference on Thursday. These are some of the steps the Foreign Secretary is beginning to take in his new role. ”
Ana Lamas, Argentina’s undersecretary for the environment, declined to comment further on whether her country was considering withdrawing from the Paris climate accord. “The delegation is scheduled to return to Argentina, but there is no further information at this time,” she told the Financial Times.
Mr. Milay fired Foreign Minister Diana Mondino last month after Argentina sided with Cuba in a United Nations vote condemning U.S. economic sanctions against the Caribbean nation.
He and new Foreign Minister Gerardo Vertein, a wealthy businessman who most recently served as Buenos Aires’ ambassador to the United States, are scheduled to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, this weekend, where they will meet with President Trump. The aim is to hold talks.
He and new Foreign Minister Gerardo Vertein, a wealthy businessman who most recently served as Buenos Aires’ ambassador to the United States, joined Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk at a gala dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday. I had a meeting with the person in charge (CEO). This was Milley’s second meeting with President Trump and her fourth meeting with President Musk.
The United States is the only country to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Almost 200 countries have signed a blueprint to limit the rise in global average temperatures. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro threatened to withdraw, but did not follow through.
Many countries participating in the United Nations conference are rushing to present a united front, arguing that even if the United States withdraws from the Paris Agreement, the world situation will be vastly different from what it was during President Trump’s first term. They argued that countries and industries are beginning to transition to green energy in light of the further impacts of climate change.
“The health of the Paris Agreement is quite good,” Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s climate envoy, said in Baku. “Here we have a multilateral forum where countries work together to find solutions, despite geopolitical tensions and elections.
“We have been through elections in the past and have continued to move forward,” she said. The “costs and destruction” of climate change were prompting countries to take action.
Another chief negotiator said: With so much renewable energy available around the world, there is a strong economic case for this transition. ”
Argentina replaced Brazil as head of the so-called Sur negotiating bloc at the two-week climate summit.
Recommended
The Argentine delegation delivered a statement to the COP29 opening session on Tuesday, declaring that its people oppose “the imposition of regulations and bans promoted by the very countries that have developed by doing the same things we are questioning today.” .
A central objective of the Baku summit is to set new financial targets to help poor countries transition to green energy and adapt to climate change, but the talks were marred by early controversy and This is overshadowed by the fact that more than half of the students are absent. world leaders.
France also joined the summit this week after host President Ilham Aliyev, in a speech at the summit, accused “President (Emmanuel) Macron’s regime” of “brutally” killing citizens in recent protests. It was decided not to send senior political officials to the In New Caledonia.
climate change capital
Where climate change meets business, markets and politics. Find out more about FT’s coverage here.
Interested in learning about FT’s commitment to environmental sustainability? Learn more about our science-based goals.
