Trump Urged to Say Yes to Paris Pact

TAORMINA, Sicily (AP) -- The latest on Group of Seven summit (all times local):

3:50 p.m.

Alden Meyer, the director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group in Washington, said the discord over climate change was unusual for G-7 meetings.

He says: "There have been differences, to be sure, in some past summits, but not a sharp open split like this."

Meyer said many U.S. states, cities, and companies are moving forward on climate action while the Trump administration is "waffling" on the Paris Agreement.

He says: "President Trump should join these leaders in protecting Americans from the mounting impacts of climate change and reaping the economic benefits of the clean energy revolution, rather than trying to shore up the flagging fortunes of the polluting coal and oil industries."

2:50 PM

Alden Meyer, the director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group in Washington, said the discord over climate change was unusual for G-7 meetings.

"There have been differences, to be sure, in some past summits, but not a sharp open split like this," he said.

Meyer said many U.S. states, cities, and companies are moving forward on climate action while the Trump administration is "waffling" on the Paris Agreement.

"President Trump should join these leaders in protecting Americans from the mounting impacts of climate change and reaping the economic benefits of the clean energy revolution, rather than trying to shore up the flagging fortunes of the polluting coal and oil industries," Meyer said.

3:25 p.m.

A summit of the leaders of the world's wealthiest democracies has ended without a unanimous agreement on climate change, as the Trump administration plans to take more time to say whether the U.S. is going to remain in the Paris climate deal.

The other six powers in the Group of Seven have agreed to stick with their previous commitment to implement that Paris deal to rein in greenhouse gases to fight climate change. The final G-7 statement expresses "understanding" for the U.S. review process.

The G-7 leaders also cut a compromise deal to acknowledge Trump's stance on trade. They kept the ban on protectionism from previous G-7 statements, but included a statement Saturday that they will "stand firm against all unfair trade practices."

Climate and trade were sticking points at the two-day summit in Taormina, Sicily. The leaders found agreement on other points, such as backing closer cooperation against terrorism in the wake of the concert bombing in Manchester that killed 22 people.

3:05 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says G-7 talks on climate change were "unsatisfactory." Six of the countries agreed to support the Paris climate change agreement; Trump tweeted he will decide next week.

Merkel says the seven wealthy democracies meeting at a summit in Sicily have had a "reasonable" discussion on trade and have agreed to reject protectionism. The agreement keeps a provision from early meetings in the face of a new approach from President Donald Trump, who has insisted trade must be fair as well as free. Merkel said the leaders agreed to "act against protectionism."

2:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he'll make a final decision next week on whether the U.S. will stay in the Paris climate agreement. Trump made the surprise announcement in a tweet after resisting pressure from European leaders to stay in the agreement.

Nearly every nation that signed the 2015 agreement, including the six other G-7 members, has agreed to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

The president tweeted Saturday, "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!"

Trump's pending review of U.S. climate policies has left environmentalists bracing for the possibility of bland G-7 promises that say little after years of increasingly stronger commitments to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Trump once proclaimed global warming a Chinese hoax.

1:10 p.m.

Shop owners in a Sicilian town have covered their windows with sheet metal and cardboard ahead of a protest expected to take place on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting.

Several thousand people are expected to march through Giardini Naxos, the seaside town bordering Taormina, the hill top venue of the G7. The march was organized by unions protesting economic inequality, current migration policies and demanding lower military spending.

The march is set for Saturday afternoon, as leaders of the world's seven largest democratic economies wrap up their two-day summit.

The protests are expected to be peaceful, but the shop owners say they are mindful of violence that has taken place during past G-7 meetings.

Marcello Di Giuseppe, said he just wants to be prepared, because "if there will be damages who will compensate me."

11:55 a.m.

Seven wealthy democracies have reached a deal at their annual summit to give the Trump administration time to tell them whether the United States plans to stay in the Paris climate agreement.

A person familiar with the talks said six members of the Group of Seven would stick with their endorsement of the Paris deal, and await a decision from the U.S. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before the formal announcement.

The source adds that G-7 members were still wrestling over a statement on trade and whether it would condemn protectionism, as previous group statements have. The last G-7 meeting in Ise-Shima, Japan in 2016 agreed to "fight all forms of protectionism," or the use of import taxes and regulations to favor domestic producers over imports.

(KA)