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Reuters
Reuters
Business

Merkel urges Europe to rise to climate change challenge

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a party meeting in Berlin, Germany, June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

BERLIN (Reuters) - In the aftermath of Britain's departure from the European Union and the U.S.'s withdrawal from the Paris climate pact, the bloc's remaining members must take greater responsibility for "existential" challenges the world faces, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

"We are convinced that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, an existential challenge," she told the German parliament. "We cannot wait to act until the science has convinced every last doubter."

She said she had agreed a plan with France's newly elected President Emmanuel Macron to deepen cooperation in the European Union and the Eurozone, adding that the EU needed to take on more responsibility for tackling security concerns it faced, including a threat from "terrorism".

People take pictures with smartphones durind the speech of German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a party meeting in Berlin, Germany, June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

The bloc's remaining members would remain united in their negotiations with Britain over its planned departure from the EU, she added in Thursday's speech to lawmakers.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a party meeting in Berlin, Germany, June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

(Reporting By Thomas Escritt, editing by Andrea Shalal)

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