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By Canadian Press

U.S. hasn’t said what it wants to get back into Paris deal, McKenna says

Sep 18, 2017 | 3:00 PM

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says the United States has provided no new information about what it would take to entice it back into the Paris climate change accord.

McKenna was one of about a dozen environment ministers from the world’s most influential nations invited to an informal breakfast meeting Monday in New York with U.S. chief economic advisor Gary Cohn.

Cohn, said to be leading U.S. policy development on Paris and climate change action, mentioned energy security and reducing emissions, but held fast to the U.S. position it will withdraw from Paris unless it can be renegotiated.

When reporters asked her if Cohn provided any more clarity as to what those terms would be she simply said, “Nope.”

Most of the ministers at the meeting with Cohn spent the weekend in Montreal, where environment ministers and officials from 31 nations gathered to chat about ways to continue moving the Paris agreement forward.

The U.S. sent Cohn’s deputy to that meeting, where discussions were largely centered on ensuring the agreement maintains its momentum.

They also discussed what needs to be done by most countries to scale up their plans if the goal of Paris — cutting emissions enough to keep global warming to two degrees above preindustrial times — can indeed be met.

The Paris agreement was signed in 2015 by 196 nations, 160 of which have now ratified the deal.

McKenna said 90 per cent of the rules around the deal, such as transparency and reporting requirements, are still to be worked out.

She said she stressed to Cohn the U.S. will not have any influence on those rules if it sits on the sidelines.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in an interview Sunday that the U.S. was largely concerned it was being asked to do far more than China in terms of cutting emissions, and that it would not re-engage until that imbalance was fixed.  

Tillerson said Cohn will look at alternatives to Paris so the U.S. can continue to work with other countries on climate change action.

“We want to be productive,” he said on CBS’s Face the Nation. “We want to be helpful. The U.S. actually has a tremendous track record on reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions.”

— Follow @mrabson on Twitter

Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press