COP27 summit agrees on landmark climate ‘loss and damage’ fund, but does little to encourage rapid cuts to fossil fuel use Read more
However, the US will not sign up to “any measures that prevent us from addressing climate change, particularly the ones that are supported by countries and are supported by business”, he wrote on Twitter in reaction to the agreement.
On the eve of the summit, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, also condemned Australia’s move to withdraw from the agreement, calling it a “a massive loss” for the world.
“I would ask that, on behalf of the most vulnerable people and climate refugees, Australia does reconsider this decision in a spirit of true dialogue,” he said in a video message.
Australia has long opposed the Paris climate agreement, saying it would undermine its economic and military interests.
Guterres has been urging Australia to join the UN talks on the issue for months.
In July, he said he regretted Australia’s decision to pull out, saying the UN was “losing its opportunity to show to the rest of the world that it is prepared to play a constructive role in shaping the world’s response to this catastrophic challenge” amid rising anti-carbon prices movements around the world.
But despite his disappointment, Guterres hailed the success of the meeting of the top world leaders, where the leaders endorsed “unprecedented and transformative commitments to tackle climate change, to strengthen economic growth and prosperity, to support education and health, and to protect the most vulnerable”.
A statement issued later on Thursday by the US read: “This historic agreement is an important step in the right direction for all countries to confront climate change and protect the most vulnerable.
“But it also leaves us all uncertain about what the future holds: Will emissions cut levels too quickly, and cause catastrophic climate change, as they did in Paris four years ago? Or too slowly, and create a gap in efforts to protect