China will “steadfastly” implement the Paris climate pact, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday, urging others to do likewise as U.S. President Donald Trump was due to announce whether he would keep Washington in the deal.
“China will continue to implement promises made in the Paris Agreement, to move towards the 2030 goal step by step steadfastly,” Mr. Li said in a Berlin joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“But of course, we also hope to do this in cooperation with others,” he added.
China has been investing billions in clean energy infrastructure, as its leaders seek to clear up the notorious choking pollution enveloping its biggest cities, including Beijing.
Mr. Li stressed that it was in China’s own interest to stick to the climate deal.
“Once China’s development reaches a certain level, it has to move to a sustainable model, that means we have to push green development,” he said.
Kremlin’s reaction
The withdrawal of key players from the Paris climate deal would “complicate” implementation of the pact, the Kremlin said.
“For sure the effectiveness of the implementation of this convention without key players will be complicated, but there are no alternatives to it at the moment,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Meanwhile, European Council President Donald Tusk made a personal appeal to Mr. Trump not to pull Washington out of the Paris climate agreement.
Mr. Tusk warned Mr. Trump on Twitter against such a move as he prepared to host an EU-China summit on Friday designed to fill the void on climate if the U.S. withdraws from the pact.
Mr. Tusk will join Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Executive European Commission, in meeting the Chinese Prime Minister at the summit on Friday.
