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G7 leaders reach impasse on climate, urge cyber crackdown

27 May 2017 00:33 (UTC +04:00)

Leaders from the world's major industrialized nations failed to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to back a landmark climate deal at a G7 summit in Sicily on Friday after hours of talks that were described by Germany's leader as "controversial", APA reports quoting Reuters.

Meeting days after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a concert in northern England, the leaders did issue a joint statement on fighting terrorism, admonishing internet service providers and social media companies to "substantially increase" their efforts to rein in extremist content.

Host Paolo Gentiloni, the prime minister of Italy, said the group was also inching closer to finding common language on trade, a contentious issue between Trump - elected on an "America First" platform - and the six other leaders.

But on the issue of climate, there was no breakthrough.

"There is one open question, which is the U.S. position on the Paris climate accords," Gentiloni told reporters, referring to a 2015 deal on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. "All others have confirmed their total agreement on the accord."

U.S. officials had signaled beforehand that Trump, who dismissed climate change as a "hoax" during his campaign, would not take a decision on the climate deal in Taormina, the cliff-top town overlooking the Mediterranean where G7 leaders met.

But other leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and new French President Emmanuel Macron, had hoped to sway the president at his first major international summit since entering the White House four months ago.

Merkel described the climate debate as "controversial". There was a "very intensive" exchange of views, she said.