WASHINGTON: Environment chief Erik Solheim says the decision by President Donald Trump to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord “in no way brings an end to this unstoppable effort.”

China, India, the European Union and others are already showing strong leadership, he added.

“A single political decision will not derail this unparalleled effort,” Solheim said in a statement.

In a separate joint statement, the African Union and the European Union reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris accord and noted the “strong solidarity with those most vulnerable to climate change.”

A number of African countries have expressed alarm at rising sea levels and changing weather patterns that have the potential to further disrupt the agriculture that so many on the world’s poorest continent rely on to survive.

The leader of the country to next hold the rotating presidency of the European Union says the “very bad, very negative” decision of President Donald Trump to pull the United States out of the global climate agreement will force the 28-nation bloc to take a stronger lead on the issue.

Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas said in an interview with The Associated Press that the Paris accord “was, and still is a very important goal to achieve.”

He stressed all EU nations are sticking together to make the deal work and expressed his doubts that any country around the world would follow Trump’s lead. “I hope that the number is zero,” Ratas said.

Estonia will take over the rotating six-month presidency from Malta at the end of the month.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord “can’t and won’t stop all those of us who feel obliged to protect the planet.”

Merkel said Friday that the announcement by Trump was “extremely regrettable and that’s putting it very mildly.”

But she told reporters in a brief statement that “it’s now necessary to look forward after last night’s announcement by the US administration.”

Merkel says Germany and others “will combine our forces more resolutely than ever ... to address and tackle big challenges for humanity such as climate change.”

She adds that “we need this Paris agreement to preserve creation. Nothing can and will stop us from doing so.”

President Donald Trump says the US could try to re-enter the international climate agreement sealed in Paris if the deal were more favorable to Americans.

Trump indicated that wasn’t a priority as he explained why he was pulling the US out of the Paris accord in the first place. In a Rose Garden announcement Thursday, the president framed the decision as one made in the best interest of his country.

Many US allies are expressing alarm over the US abandoning the chief effort to slow the planet’s warming. The leaders of France, Germany and Italy joined to “note with regret” the Trump decision and express doubts about any change in the accord.

Several of Trump’s top aides also opposed the action, including his daughter Ivanka Trump.