Leaders react to Trump's withdrawal from WHO, climate accord

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said Europe would stay the course when it came to fighting climate change. Her statement came a day after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord. The agreement, signed by nearly 200 countries, obligated the United States to work with other countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the globe.

The European Union’s Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra said it was disappointing that the world’s largest economy was withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. Every continent would eventually face the burdens caused by a changing climate, von der Leyen said. Europe was willing to work with any countries that were interested in stopping global warming, she added.

Why is the WHO disappointed in Trump? Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Ghebreyesus on Tuesday said he regretted Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the international agency. During its time with the agency, the United States cooperated with the WHO’s other 193 member countries to fight diseases, counter health emergencies, and build stronger healthcare systems, Ghebreyesus said. Ghebreyesus said he hoped the United States would reconsider its decision to withdraw from the organization.

Isn’t there a European Union summit of sorts going on? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday spoke to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He called on Europe to take the global lead in technology development and support his country militarily in its fight against Russia. Zelenskyy also urged leaders not to let President Donald Trump and his early policy decisions distract them from developments close to home. Europe must become more self-sufficient, Zelenskyy insisted.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report in The Sift about how Christian and secular agencies have raised alarms about some of Trump’s immigration-related executive actions.