German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday said that climate change posed an existential challenge to humanity and the world could not wait until all countries were on board to tackle it.
Merkel made her comments while speaking to lawmakers in the lower house of Parliament ahead of a G20 summit slated take place in Hamburg on July 7-8, reports Efe news.
Climate change is an "existential challenge", she said, adding "we cannot wait to act until the science has convinced every last doubter" -- a reference to the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.
She said the Paris agreement was irreversible and not negotiable after US President Donald Trump signalled that his country could return to it later, something that other countries have rejected.
The European Union, Merkel said, must implement what was agreed to at the end of 2015 in the French capital regarding climate change.
She said the EU was "more determined than ever" to make the Paris accord a success following Trump's decision to pull Washington out of it.
The Chancellor acknowledged that climate change talks at the G20 would not be easy.
--IANS
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