The Latest: Germany says Trump wrong on climate change costs

KATOWICE, Poland — The Latest on the U.N. climate meeting (all times local):

10:35 a.m.

Germany says failure to curb climate change would cost the world “a lot more” than the trillions of dollars President Donald Trump’s claim he’s saving by quitting the 2015 Paris accord.

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said Friday that “if we let entire stretches of this planet become uninhabitable then it will trigger gigantic costs.”

Trump said in an interview Thursday with Fox News that if he had remained in the Paris accord “we would be paying trillions of dollars, trillions of dollars for nothing, and I wouldn’t do that.”

The Paris accord requires countries to reduce their emissions, something scientists say will involve a wholesale shift in their economies. Rich countries have also committed themselves to providing financial support to poor nations to tackle global warming.

Schulze told reporters on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Poland that investing in developing technologies to protect the climate will give Germany “an enormous competitive advantage.”

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9:40 a.m.

Negotiators at the U.N. climate meeting in Poland are gathering to discuss the first comprehensive draft agreement to emerge after almost two weeks of talks.

Ministers and senior officials from almost 200 countries were due to hold further meetings Friday before convening in plenary in the afternoon to address remaining differences.

Among the key pitfalls to emerge overnight was the question of how to establish a functioning international market in carbon credits and whether some countries should get money for damage already caused by climate change.

The meeting is meant to finalize the rulebook for the 2015 Paris climate agreement, provide assurances to poor nations on financial support for tackling global warming, and send a message that countries are committed to stepping up their efforts in the coming years.

The Associated Press

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