Represent Pittsburgh, and not Paris says Trump; Pittsburgh mayor rebukes
What's the story
Rejecting the Paris climate deal, Donald Trump said, "I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris."
To this the mayor of Pittsburgh quickly responded, "As the mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris agreement."
Various world and business leaders also expressed their displeasure over Trump's shocking decision to exit Paris accord.
Background
The Paris climate deal
Paris climate agreement is the outcome of UNFCCC's (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Paris Climate Conference in Dec 2015.
It aims to achieve a legally binding, universal agreement on climate, with a goal of limiting century's global average temperature increase to no more than 2 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial (1850-1900) levels, and ideally limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
All for the climate deal
America's commitment under Obama
Under the Paris agreement, signed by 195 countries, every nation submits its own climate-action plan to tackle the greenhouse gas emissions.
During Barack Obama's administration, the US had pledged to cut its emissions by 26-28% as against 2005 levels, by the year 2025.
Obama signed an executive order to adopt the Paris accord but did not submit it to Congress for approval.
02 Jun 2017
Donald Trump withdraws US out of Paris climate deal
Donald Trump announced that he was pulling the US out of Paris climate accord, a step that dampens the global efforts to curb climate change.
"I cannot in good conscience, support a deal that punishes the United States", Trump said and added that the Paris deal "would undermine the US economy, cost US jobs, and weaken American national sovereignty."
02 Jun 2017
Reactions to Trump's exit from Paris climate agreement
As Donald Trump announced the exit of US from the Paris climate accord, leaders of France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement that the "US could not unilaterally renegotiate the agreement".
Barack Obama however insisted that "even in the absence of American leadership, the US businesses, state governors, and mayors of big cities would step up and lead the way."
Quote
No Plan B because there's no Planet B: Macron
Talking about the climate change French President Emmanuel Macron said, "There is no Plan B as there is no Planet B". Retorting to Trump's withdrawal he called on the world nations to "Make our planet great again."
Business leaders
Business leaders voice disappointment
Disappointed with Trump's decision, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla said, "Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world."
While Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg said rejecting Paris deal was bad for the environment and economy, Apple's Tim Cook said that he tried to persuade Trump to keep US in the agreement but the effort wasn't enough.