"Angela Merkel Predicts Showdown With U.S. Over Climate at G-20"

"BERLIN — In forceful remarks before Germany’s Parliament on Thursday, Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to defend the ­international climate agreement spurned by the Trump administration, anticipating a difficult meeting of the leaders of the world’s major economies next week in Hamburg.

Despite the withdrawal of the United States, the world’s second-largest polluter, the European Union remains committed to the Paris climate accord, Merkel said. But she was blunt about the obstacles posed by the American retreat from the deal, which was signed by 195 nations in an ­attempt to forge global consensus around limiting greenhouse ­gases.

'Since the U.S. announced that it would exit the Paris agreement, we cannot expect any easy talks in Hamburg,' Merkel said, referring to the Group of 20 summit scheduled for July 7 and 8. 'The dissent is obvious, and it would be dishonest to cover it up.'"

Isaac Stanley-Becker and Stephanie Kirchner report for the Washington Post June 29, 2017.