“We have chosen not to tackle the climate issue head-on,” an adviser to French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut told reporters. “Why? Because the United States’ positions on this issue are well known, and we felt … that tackling this issue head-on with the United States within the G7 framework would not send a message of unity.”
“We chose to focus on less contentious issues,” said the adviser, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
Despite those efforts, the U.S. chose not to send a high-level representative to Paris. Washington is represented instead by Usha-Maria Turner, an assistant administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The other six countries sent their ministers.
“The French government’s approach is understandable,” said a government official from Germany, whose Environment Minister Carsten Schneider traveled to Paris for the meeting.
“In addition to the climate crisis, there are many other environmental issues with global implications, including the protection of water resources and biodiversity,” the official said. “It’s important that the U.S. is kept engaged in the relevant international negotiations on solutions in these areas.”
“The U.S. government has at least now been persuaded to convene a separate G20 meeting of environment ministers,” the official added. The U.S. currently holds the G20 presidency. An environment ministerial is not yet on the public calendar.