France drops climate from G7 agenda to appease Trump

France has come under criticism after choosing to leave climate change off the agenda at this week’s G7 environment ministers’ meeting in Paris, a move widely seen as an attempt to avoid tensions with the United States.

According to officials involved in the discussions, French organizers deliberately steered conversations toward less divisive topics such as biodiversity and water management, rather than directly addressing global warming. The decision reflects concerns over the stance of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, which has repeatedly questioned climate science and withdrawn from several international climate initiatives.

A French government adviser indicated that the priority was to maintain unity among G7 members, suggesting that raising climate issues directly could have deepened divisions within the group. The strategy, however, appears to have had limited impact on U.S. engagement. Washington did not send a senior cabinet-level representative to the meeting, instead delegating attendance to a lower-ranking official from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Other G7 members, including Germany, reportedly supported the effort to keep the United States involved in international environmental discussions, even if that meant focusing on less contentious areas. The argument, according to European officials, is that continued engagement—however limited—is preferable to complete disengagement.

The move has nevertheless drawn strong criticism from climate advocates. Activists argue that sidelining climate change at a major international environmental meeting undermines global efforts to address what many consider the most urgent environmental crisis. Some also point to the contradiction between expressing disappointment over the outcomes of recent global climate negotiations and choosing not to prioritize the issue when setting the agenda.

The episode highlights a broader tension in international environmental diplomacy: balancing the need for cooperation among major powers with the urgency of confronting climate change. As geopolitical divisions deepen, that balance is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.