UPDATE - UN: US climate deal pullout could raise mercury 0.3C

ADDS US SECRETARY OF STATE REMARKS

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA (AA) - The UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) estimated on Friday the U.S. withdrawal from Paris climate agreement could increase global temperatures by 0.3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century (2100).

"The climate will continue to warm in any case, this is an additional 0.3 degrees on the warming due to the withdrawal of the U.S.," Deon Terblanche, head of WMO's Atmospheric Research and Environment Department, said in a news conference in Geneva.

President Donald Trump on Thursday pulled the U.S. out of an historic accord aimed at combating climate change, breaking with the overwhelming majority of the world's countries.

The accord is "the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the exclusive benefit of other countries," Trump told the American public from the Rose Garden.

As part of Trump's decision, the U.S. will immediately halt contributions to the Green Climate Fund, a UN body that helps developing countries adopt climate-friendly policies.

The Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) announced on Thursday it regretted the U.S withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres did not address the decision directly, but said the "U.S. society" would "remain engaged".

Climate change is "undeniable" and "one of the biggest threats to our present world and to the future of our planet", Guterres said.

France, Germany and Italy on Thursday ruled out any new talks on the Paris climate accord shortly after Trump suggested he could get a better deal for Washington.

"We deem the momentum generated in Paris in December 2015 irreversible and we firmly believe that the Paris Agreement cannot be renegotiated, since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economies,” the leaders of the EU’s three major powers said and vowed to quickly implement the accord.

"We will step up efforts to support developing countries, in particular the poorest and most vulnerable, in achieving their mitigation and adaptation goals,” according to the statement.

In announcing the move to pull out of the deal, Trump said his action would help improve the U.S. economy and return jobs.

In a telephone call with Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was disappointed with the U.S. decision because the accord “provides the right global framework for protecting the prosperity and security of future generations, while keeping energy affordable and secure for our citizens and businesses,” according to a statement from her office.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address he respects the U.S.' decision but called it a "huge error" that would have negative effects for the future of the U.S., its people and the planet.

"Tonight, the U.S. has turned its back on the world. France will not turn its back on Americans," according to Macron, who extended an invitation to scientists upset with the American move. "Come and work here with us,” he said. “We all share the same responsibility. Make our planet great again.”

Speaking first in French, then English, he said he told Trump in a brief and "direct" conversation that "nothing is re-negotiable" in the Paris Accord and it will not be "reversible”.

France, along with Germany and Italy, plan to meet in the coming days to announce stronger climate measures.

The mayor of Paris also criticized Trump’s move Thursday as "a dramatic and unpopular mistake" to withdraw from the deal.

"As the chair of C40, a network of 91 of the world’s major cities committed to tackling climate change and as the mayor of Paris, I urge the U.S. administration to reconsider this short-sighted decision," according to a statement from Anne Hidalgo.

"Regardless of President Trump’s decision, the great cities of the world, in particular the 12 American C40 cities, remain resolutely committed to doing what needs to be done to implement the Paris Agreement,” it added.

Seeking to mitigate the diplomatic fallout, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who opposed the pull out, said the U.S. would not change ongoing efforts to reduce emissions going forward.

"It was a policy decision and I think it’s important that everyone recognize the United States has a terrific record on reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions," he told reporters at the State Department.

"Hopefully people can keep it in perspective," he added.

The Paris Agreement, spearheaded by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, and signed by 195 countries in April 2016, aims to fight climate change by reducing carbon emissions and limiting global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.

During his election campaign, Trump called global warming "a hoax" and promised to scrap the agreement and return jobs to the coal industry that is often an easy target for environmentalists.

*Michael Hernandez in Washington, D.C. and Canberk Yuksel in New York contributed to this report.