Beneficial for the climate / International pact could collapse if Argentina follows Trump – Mercosur helps prevent this

“The provisional entry into force of the Mercosur agreement is, in my firm conviction, also beneficial for the climate,” said Dr Peter Liese, spokesperson on climate policy for the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), following the European Commission’s announcement to provisionally apply the agreement.

“Mercosur is important for geopolitical reasons, as we can unfortunately no longer fully rely on our traditional partners. We need new markets for our economy, which is currently facing difficulties. At the same time, I believe Mercosur is crucial for maintaining the international climate process. Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, but no one followed his example – not even his ideological ally, Argentina’s President Javier Milei.

A key factor in this was that, at the insistence of Ursula von der Leyen personally, the following clause was included in the agreement:

“[...] In this context, recognizing the role of trade in contributing to the response to the
urgent threat of climate change, each Party shall remain a party, in good faith, of the
UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement.” (Mercosur Agreement)

“If Mercosur were to fail, Argentina might withdraw from the Paris Agreement and trigger a dangerous chain reaction. In my view, this risk outweighs the concerns repeatedly raised by environmental groups during the debate. I am pleased to see that the Greens are beginning to understand this link and that some of them, who previously supported referring the agreement to the European Court of Justice, have now stated that they will ultimately support Mercosur,” Liese concluded.