Trump poised to pull US from Paris agreement

President Donald Trump is expected to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, three officials with knowledge of the decision said, making good on a campaign pledge but severely weakening the landmark 2015 climate change accord that committed nearly every nation to take action to curb the warming of the planet.

A senior White House official cautioned that the specific language of the president’s expected announcement was still in flux Wednesday. The official said the withdrawal might be accompanied by legal caveats that will shape the impact of Trump’s decision.

And Trump has proved himself willing to shift direction up until the moment of a public announcement. He is set to meet Wednesday afternoon with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has advocated that the United States remain a part of the Paris accords and could continue to lobby the president to change his mind.

Even as reports surfaced about his decision, Trump posted on Twitter that he will make his intentions known soon. “I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote.

Still, faced with advisers who pressed hard on both sides of the Paris question, Trump appears to have decided that a continued U.S. presence in the accord would harm the economy; hinder job creation in regions like Appalachia and the West, where his most ardent supporters live; and undermine his “America First” message.

The exit of the United States, the world’s largest economy and second-largest greenhouse gas polluter would not dissolve the 195-nation pact, which was legally ratified last year, but it could set off a cascade of events that would have profound effects on the planet. Other countries that reluctantly joined the agreement could now withdraw or soften their commitments to cutting planet-warming pollution.