Emmanuel Macron has said the landmark Paris climate deal will not be renegotiated, after White House officials suggested Donald Trump could remain a signatory of the agreement but only if new terms were reached, reports The Independent.
The French President's comments during his address to the UN General Assembly effectively end renewed hopes that the world's second largest polluter would remain tied to the accord's carbon emission targets.
Following a meeting with around a dozen ministers on Monday, a White House official said: “We are withdrawing from the Paris agreement unless we can re-engage on terms more favourable to the United States."
But speaking a day later, Mr Macron ruled out a renegotiation of the 2015 deal, saying the wording of the agreement could be enriched with new contributions, "but we won't go back".
He added that he "profoundly respects" Mr Trump's decision and said the "door will always remain open".
Mr Trump announced in June that America was withdrawing from the Paris deal, arguing that it disadvantaged businesses and would impoverish the US.
Rather than remain signed up to the existing deal, Mr Trump said he would “begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or a really entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States”.