Trump, Putin to miss climate G20 discussion for bilateral talks - reports

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are set to miss the G20 leaders’ discussion on climate and energy as they have scheduled their first personal meeting during the working session, German news website Spiegel Online reports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the G20 leaders for the summit in Hamburg, where protests turned violent overnight and protesters clashed with police. Merkel told the press on Thursday night that there were various options on the table with regards to a commitment to the Paris Agreement for the final statement, adding that the Sherpas - the G20 leaders top-negotiators – still had “some work to do over the coming two nights”. News agencies have reported that the G20 were working on a compromise that would allow the United States to agree on the final communiqué while taking note of the US president’s decision to leave the international climate deal. But close observers of the negotiations have told the Clean Energy Wire that discussions were still ongoing. German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel told TV station ZDF on Thursday after a meeting with Trump and Merkel that the climate issue remained “clearly disputed”.

Find background on the G20 climate and energy transition issues in the Clean Energy Wire dossier.