TRUMP OR NO TRUMP, CLIMATE DEAL ON: EU

US media says Trump has decided to quit Paris accord

brussels — The European Union and China will give their unconditional backing to the Paris climate accord at a bilateral summit in Brussels on Friday, whether or not the US leaves the pact, an EU official said on Wednesday.

“We will issue a joint statement on climate change that will stress that China and the EU... will implement the agreement,” the senior EU official told reporters on Wednesday. “The Paris Agreement will continue with full force of implementation even if the US pulls out,” he added.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in Brussels late today for talks with EU president Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker, with climate change at the top of the agenda.

The Brussels talks follow a tense international tour by US President Donald Trump in which he spurned pleas by his European counterparts to adhere to the 2015 Paris climate accord. US media reported on Wednesday that Trump had decided to pull the United States out of the Paris accord.

In a tweet, Trump said an announcement would come in the “next few days”, ratcheting up the tension over what could be one of the biggest decisions of his presidency.

A pullout by Washington would deal a devastating blow to global efforts to combat climate change less than 18 months after the historic 196-party pact was signed in Paris.

The Axios website was first to report Trump’s decision was made, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter, while other media including CNN, CBS, ABC and Politico reported the White House was expected to announce a withdrawal once details of the process have been worked out.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer, asked on Tuesday whether Trump believes human activity is contributing to climate change, told reporters, “Honestly, I haven’t asked him that. I can get back to you.”