Paris climate agreement won’t fall apart with US withdrawal: Iran VP

The head of Iran's Department of Environment (DoE), Massoumeh Ebtekar, says US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal will not lead to the collapse of the accord.

“The Paris agreement is an international accord and will not collapse by the withdrawal of one country,” Ebtekar, who is also an Iranian vice president, said on Saturday.

“Trump’s move was a completely unscientific and uncalculated move,” she added.

She described the Paris agreement as a “golden” accord reached amid high tensions, adding that the deal promotes convergence among countries across the world.

All countries have come to the conclusion that the environment is a common issue in the world, she said, adding, “Therefore, the US unilateral act will have no impact [on the agreement] and will bear no fruit.”

Speaking at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, Trump said he was withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement.

"In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord," Trump said.

He called the deal unfair to American workers and said it stifled production and imposed burdens on the country.

Ebtekar further highlighted the significance of the Paris agreement for the oil producing and exporting countries and said many oil-rich states have so far joined the pact.

“The Iranian administration has also carried out all legal measures to join the Paris accord and we are now waiting for the Guardian Council to make a decision in this regard,” the vice president added.

Last April, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif signed the historic deal during a ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in New York. However, in its initial review of the agreement late last year, the country's legislation supervisory body, the Guardian Council, described it as "ambiguous" in some areas.

Ebtekar emphasized that Iran has implemented positive plans to reduce greenhouse gases, saying the administration has taken steps to cut fuel consumption and promote environmental policies.

“In the Paris agreement, Iran has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by four percent without any precondition and by eight percent provided that sanctions [against the country] were lifted,” Ebtekar said.

She added that Iran is capable of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent.

The DoE head rejected false media claims about the implementation of the Paris deal and emphasized that it would create job opportunities, tackle pollution, reduce greenhouse gases and protect natural resources.

The Paris climate accord is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020.

It was negotiated by representatives of 195 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on December 12, 2015. Since June 2017, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, 148 of which have ratified it.

In the Paris agreement, each country determines its own contribution it should make in order to mitigate global warming. There is no mechanism to force a country to set a specific target by a specific date.

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