Russian says US exit from Paris pact ‘terrible mistake’

Moscow, Aug 6 (IANS) Russian on Saturday criticized the US decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as "terrible mistake".

"It is a terrible mistake!!! President Trump will actually pull the US -- the largest player -- out of the Paris Agreement," Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi wrote on Facebook, Xinhua reported.

"There is nothing unexpected in terms of history: He repeated the US withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol, the first international pact on combating climate change," Donskoi said.

The US on Friday submitted a notice to the United Nations (UN) formally announcing its intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change, after President Donald Trump announced the decision in June, citing concerns about the accord's threat to the US economy.

"The decision by the United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement is a major disappointment for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote global security," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a note sent Friday night to correspondents.

Under article 28 of the Paris Agreement, a party may withdraw at any time after three years from the date on which the agreement has entered into force for that party.

The US accepted the Paris Agreement on September 3, 2016 and the agreement entered into force for it on November 4, 2016. This means that the US must stay in the pact until at least 2019.

The Paris Agreement aims to tackle climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and sets a global target of keeping the rise in the average temperature no higher than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. \