Trump to Pull Out of Paris Climate Deal | Sojourners

Trump to Pull Out of Paris Climate Deal

On Wednesday, two sources confirmed weeklong rumors that President Trump is preparing to pull out of the Paris climate deal, reports Axios.

According to Axios,

Details on how the withdrawal will be executed are being worked out by a small team including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. They're deciding on whether to initiate a full, formal withdrawal — which could take 3 years — or exit the underlying United Nations climate change treaty, which would be faster but more extreme.

…The only other two countries that aren't supporting the deal are Nicaragua and Syria.

The reported decision comes on the heels of a letter from 22 Republican senators to the president, urging him to withdraw from the major international agreement reached under President Obama in 2015. The deal, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by significantly reducing participating nations’ reliance on fossil fuels, took effect shortly before the U.S. presidential election in November 2016. It was hailed as a significant achievement for Obama’s climate legacy.

The letter from GOP leadership last week said Trump’s goal for rolling back regulations under Obama’s Clean Power Plan was limited as long as the U.S. remains in the Paris climate change deal.

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