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At G-7, Trump Dumps Climate But Agrees on Gender, Africa

Patsy Widakuswara

   WHITE HOUSE - At a contentious summit where the United States stood
   apart from allies on many issues, including whether to help with the
   Amazon fires, bring Russia back into the fold and the tariff war with
   China, U.S. President Donald Trump did agree to support several G-7
   initiatives, despite reports that his administration considers them
   "niche issues."

   A senior administration official confirmed to VOA that the Trump
   administration signed several consensus documents, particularly in the
   area of gender equality, partnership with Africa, and digital
   transformation.

   The United States did not sign on to a $20 million aid offer from the
   G-7 to help the government of Brazil fight the Amazon rainforest fires.

     The US stands ready to assist Brazil in efforts to combat fires in
     the Amazon. We didn't agree to a G7 initiative that failed to
     include consultations w/ [1]@jairbolsonaro. The most constructive
     way to assist w/ Brazil's ongoing efforts is in coordination w/ the
     Brazilian Gov. (1/2)
     -- Garrett Marquis (@GMarquis45) [2]August 28, 2019

   Trump also skipped the working session on oceans, climate, and
   biodiversity. Yet his administration did sign on to the [3]Metz Charter
   on Biodiversity, a commitment to fight loss of biodiversity and tackle
   climate change that responds to [4]recent warnings from scientists.

   Still the administration is launching dozens of environmental rollback
   attempts that will undercut efforts by previous administrations to
   reduce emissions and climate change.

   Tomas Carbonell of the Environmental Defense Fund calls the rollbacks a
   "series of deeply harmful attacks on some of our nation's most
   effective tools to fight climate change and protect health."

   Gender equality and empowerment

   A notable area of [5]common ground between the U.S. and G-7
   counterparts is gender equality.

   The administration signed on to the summit's [6]Declaration on Gender
   Equality and Women's Empowerment, which includes an appeal to better
   prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence, and encourage
   women's participation in conflict prevention and peace building.

   It also signed on to the [7]Biarritz Partnership on Gender Equality,
   which calls on all countries to make their laws more gender-equal, and
   urges the G-7 to implement a "feminist foreign policy" by making women
   empowerment a priority in development assistance.

   The G-7 is well positioned to turn the tide on gender equality, but
   only if nations match their promises with a substantial increase in
   dollars, said Jamille Bigio a Senior Fellow at the Women and Foreign
   Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. "The question,
   then, is whether the United States will take on this challenge when it
   assumes the G-7 presidency next year," she added.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/jairbolsonaro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   2. https://twitter.com/GMarquis45/status/1166840358371770369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://www.elysee.fr/admin/upload/default/0001/04/7d84becef82b656c246fa1b26519567ce3755600.pdf
   4. https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment
   5. https://www.voanews.com/usa/g-7-trump-may-find-common-ground-gender-equality-africa
   6. https://www.elysee.fr/admin/upload/default/0001/05/e8aa2525311a98227c935900abefdce7eb911896.pdf
   7. https://www.elysee.fr/admin/upload/default/0001/05/cfb1e2ba2b9aa09c1660f1b6df2cabbc815eecc2.pdf

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