Former UN chief: Trump 'on wrong side of history'
LONDON US President Donald Trump is "standing on the wrong side of history" in withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, former UN chief Ban Ki Moon said.
"I am deeply concerned about what President Trump of (the) United States has declared that the US is withdrawing from this Paris agreement.
"I have been speaking out that his vision is politically short-sighted, and economically irresponsible and scientifically wrong. So he is standing on the wrong side of history," Mr Ban said on the sidelines of a London peace walk.
Mr Ban joined other members of The Elders, a group created by Nelson Mandela, on the procession through the city before a discussion on world peace.
Mr Ban said that despite Mr Trump's decision to pull out of the historic Paris agreement, he remained heartened by a US civil society campaign to continue to honour the environmental deal.
'ENCOURAGED'
"I am encouraged and hopeful that whole worlds will be united in moving ahead with this Paris climate change agreement. This is the political and moral responsibility of our political leaders," he said.
Mr Trump announced in June the start of a three-year process to pull out of the 2015 agreement, signed by 195 countries, on the grounds that it would put the US at an economic disadvantage. - AFP
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