Germany 'committed' to Paris Agreement, WHO despite US withdrawal

Germany remains "committed" to the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO) despite the planned US withdrawal under President Donald Trump, a government spokeswoman said in Berlin on Wednesday.

"We rely on international organizations and a rules-based international order," the spokeswoman said. "We remain committed to these agreements."

The German government sees climate change as a massive global challenge which requires global solutions, she said: "In our view, the Paris climate agreement is indispensable and we will continue to focus on it."

The spokeswoman also described the WHO as a vital tool against threats to public health.

Berlin will remain in dialogue with the United States in order to better understand what the motives are, she said.

After taking office on Monday, Trump issued a series of executive orders aimed at abandoning global commitments.

He previously attempted to pull the US out of the WHO in 2020 during his first term in office, but the move was cancelled by his successor, Joe Biden, in 2021 before it took effect.

In an executive order on Monday, Trump stated that the organization had reacted poorly to the coronavirus pandemic and was demanding unfair contributions from the United States.

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on Tuesday called the US withdrawal a serious blow to the international fight against global health crises.

The withdrawal processes from the WHO and the Paris Agreement both take one year.