The United States' new ambassador to Samoa, Scott Brown, says he doesn't believe President Donald Trump has closed the door on the Paris climate change agreement.
US Ambassador to Samoa, Scott Brown, speaking to reporters in Samoa in July 2017 Photo: RNZI/Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia
Mr Brown, who's based in Wellington, has been in Samoa to present his credentials to Samoa's head of state and meet government officials.
He defended Mr Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the deal and his country's record on dealing with climate change.
"I think it's real and I'm learning more and more now that I'm here. Our reductions in CO2 have gone down 12.5 percent. Notwithstanding the tremendous growth in our businesses and our job creation, it's still down. So there are a lot of other countries quite frankly that need to catch up with what we've been doing."
"That's why I'm very excited with what we're doing with the alternative energy sources - wind, solar in particular."
Mr Scott also attended celebrations for fifty years of the US Peace Corps volunteer programme in Samoa over the weekend.