ECB’s Villeroy: US move to leave Paris climate deal regrettable, unsurprising

PARIS (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate accord for the second time was regrettable but unsurprising, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, a European Central Bank official, said on Tuesday.

“We regret Mr. Trump’s announcement to leave the Paris Agreement, which was not a surprise,” Villeroy, who is also the French central bank chief, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV from the annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland.

Even before Trump returned to office on Monday, the U.S. Federal Reserve withdrew from the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System, a group launched in 2017 to police environmental risks in finance.

But Villeroy said the group, which still has more than 140 members, “is more committed and active than ever.”