- President Donald Trump and 19 other world leaders wrapped up a summit in Buenos Aires on Saturday
- The G-20 conference ended with 19 leaders signing on to a pledge reiterating commitment to fighting climate change
- Trump was the only leader who declined to sign the statement in support of the Paris accord on fighting climate change
- The U.S. leader has expressed skepticism with regard to climate change and whether it is caused by humans
By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and EMILY GOODIN, U.S. POLITCAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS
PUBLISHED: 22:40 EST, 1 December 2018 | UPDATED: 23:19 EST, 1 December 2018
President Donald Trump is seen above at the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Friday
President Donald Trump was the only leader at the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina who refused to sign a statement reiterating a pledge to combat climate change.
At the conclusion of the Buenos Aires conference, leaders of the forum which consists of 19 countries and the European Union agreed to fix the world trading system – but only 19 of them agreed to support the Paris accord on fighting climate change.
Applause rose up in the hall Saturday as the leaders, including Trump, signed off on a final statement at the end of a two-day summit.
The statement acknowledges flaws in the world trading system and calls for reforming the World Trade Organization.
It doesn’t mention protectionism however, because negotiators said the U.S. had resisted that.
The statement says 19 of the members reiterated their commitment to the Paris climate accord but the U.S. reiterates its decision to withdraw.
The non-binding agreement was reached after difficult all-night talks by diplomats.
A copy was obtained by The Associated Press.
Trump remains a skeptic of climate change.
In an interview Tuesday with The Washington Post, the President said he doubted the scientific consensus that the planet is getting warmer because of man-made pollutants that are being released into the air.
‘One of the problems that a lot of people like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence but we’re not necessarily such believers,’ the President said.
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‘You look at our air and our water and it’s right now at a record clean.’
When asked whether climate change is caused by humans, Trump said: ‘As to whether or not it’s man-made and whether or not the effects that you’re talking about are there, I don’t see it – not nearly like it is.’
Last week, the federal government released a wide-ranging report which found that climate change will cost the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century, damaging everything from human health to infrastructure and agricultural production.