Trump’s environment official skipping much of G7 summit

BOLOGNA, Italy – Italy says the top environment official in U.S. President Donald Trump administration is leaving a Group of Seven summit before it ends.

Italy’s environment minister, Gian Luca Galletti, who is leading the two-day environment meeting in Bologna, told reporters that Scott Pruitt participated in an opening session about climate Sunday morning but then was departing due to a commitment.

Pruitt heads the Environmental Protection Agency for Trump, who recently announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal.

The other six countries in the G-7 — Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy — all agreed at last month’s political summit of national leaders in Sicily to work toward making the Paris climate accord effective.

Galletti said that despite the split, dialogue must continue, including on other environmental issues.