US weighs decision on pullout from Paris climate pact
washington — The United States says it it will continue attending United Nations climate change meetings, even as President Donald Trump considers pulling the US out of a global emissions-cutting deal.
While US representatives are in Bonn, Germany, next week for the UN talks, Trump’s advisers will meet on Tuesday to discuss what to do about the global pact known as the Paris agreement, officials said. The conflicting signals suggested the administration was trying to keep its options open while Trump decides whether to withdraw, a move the international community would strongly oppose.
Though Trump’s inclination has been to leave the agreement, he’s allowed his daughter, White House adviser Ivanka Trump, to set up an extensive review process, a senior administration official said. The goal is to ensure Trump receives information from both government experts and the private sector before a making a decision.
To that end, Ivanka Trump will hold a separate meeting Tuesday with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, the official said. Pruitt is a chief proponent of leaving the deal and has questioned the science that says humans are contributing to global warming. And the decision to participate in next week’s UN climate talks shouldn’t be construed as a sign that Trump has decided to stay in the Paris pact, a State Department official added. To the contrary, the US will be sending a “much smaller” delegation than it has in years past, the official said.
The officials weren’t authorised to discuss internal deliberations publicly and requested anonymity.
If the US pulls out, it will be a pariah. It will be on the sidelines, and that’s going to hurt American businesses Andrew Light, a climate adviser
Under the Paris deal, brokered by former president Barack Obama and world leaders in 2015, nations agreed to non-binding pledges to cap or reduce emissions of heattrapping greenhouse gases. The pact helped solidify a global consensus about addressing climate change that environmental groups worry may be undermined if the world’s largest economy withdraws.
“If the US pulls out, it will be a pariah,” said Andrew Light, a climate adviser at the World Resources Institute. Trump, as a candidate, threatened to “cancel” the deal, but since taking office has said he’s studying it and plans a final decision soon. US officials say the timeline is being driven by the Group of 7 summit, which Trump will attend late this month in Italy. Trump needs to announce a decision before that summit so that leaders can determine whether and how to address climate change issues during the G-7.
The State Department official said that the US was focused on ensuring that no decisions are made in Bonn next week “that would prejudice our future policy,” undermine competitiveness for American businesses or restrict US economic growth.
The delegation will be led by Trigg Talley, the US deputy special envoy for climate change. The Trump administration has left the special envoy role vacant after the official who held the position in the Obama administration departed.