Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says Secretary of State Rex Tillerson demonstrated his support of the Paris accord on climate change when he signed the Fairbanks Declaration 2017 that followed a summit Thursday in Alaska to highlight global warming.
“We got to a very good place on climate change in this agreement,” she said Thursday in a conference call to reporters.
Tillerson signed the document along with Canada and six other Arctic Council members. The declaration claims that the Arctic is getting warmer twice as fast as the rest of the world and blames climate change as the primary threat to Arctic biodiversity.
Freeland particularly noted Tillerson’s efforts in forging a consensus that recognized the Paris accord.
The minister said Tillerson demonstrated a “strong and positive role in holding the chair in all eight Arctic countries in getting to a public declaration that we were all able to sign, which includes very clear recognition of the Paris agreement” as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“I’m pleased that we got to a good place thanks to the partnership of all the Arctic Council members, very much including the United States, and very much including Secretary Tillerson.”
Though President Donald Trump remains publicly suspicious of the Paris accord, especially with regards to its potential impact on the U.S. economy and American jobs, he has yet to articulate a formal position and some members of his administration are apparently pushing him to abide by the agreement.
Freeland would not comment on Tillerson’s apparently contradictory remarks following Thursday’s summit, when he said the U.S. will not be rushed into formulating its policy on climate change. But she reiterated the Trudeau government’s position that the Paris accord is unalterable and must be recognized by all Arctic Council partners.
“Canada is very pleased the Paris agreement is in that declaration,” Freeland said in a conference call from Fairbanks on Thursday night.
“We know that climate change is having a powerful impact, and we believe that only concerted international action is going to do what it takes to fight climate change.
Tillerson attempted to have his cake and eat it too, saying the Trump administration was still deliberating on climate change, even though the secretary of state’s signature was on a document declaring an unequivocal position.
“We are appreciative that each of you has an important point of view, and you should know that we are taking the time to understand your concerns,” Tillerson cautioned.
“We’re not going to rush to make a decision. We’re going to work to make the right decision for the United States,” he said after deciding to sign the climate change declaration.
Some global warming advocates had predicted that Tillerson would use the Alaskan summit to announce America’s rejection of the Paris Accord.
That did not happen.