RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that he will not sign any climate agreement that will damage the country's agribusiness sector.
The statement was made in response to a declaration made by French President Emmanuel Macron, who, earlier this week, said that a trade deal between Mercosur, of which Brazil is a founding member, and the European Union was conditional on Brazil's position on the Paris Climate Agreement.
The French president said he cannot ask French workers and farmers to change their production habits to lead the ecological transition, then to sign trade agreements with countries which do not agree to do the same, for it would mean an imbalance of trade agreements.
Bolsonaro, whose stance on environmental matters differs from recent Brazilian administrations, has been voicing his intention to pull Brazil from the Paris Agreement. He has recently asked for the withdrawal of Brazil's candidacy for host of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-25) in 2019.
"Macron is defending France. This agreement between Mercosur and the European Union harms France's interest, as the country's agribusiness sector is also strong," Bolsonaro said.
