Trump expected to pull out of Paris Climate Agreement
Published May 31, 2017
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Scott Pruitt outlines problems with Paris climate agreement

President Trump is expected to soon announce he is pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, two sources told Fox News.

A very senior administration official cautioned that Trump had not yet made a final decision and continued to weigh his options.

"I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.

The accord, agreed to by the Obama administration along with almost 200 other countries in 2015, would have forced the U.S. to reduce fossil fuel emissions by nearly 30 percent by 2025.

During Trump’s overseas trip last week, European leaders pressed him to keep the U.S. in the landmark agreement.

Trump promised during his presidential campaign to pull the U.S. out of the deal.

In a possible jab at the likely U.S. pullout, the United Nations tweeted on Wednesday a quote from Secretary General Antonio Guterres: "Climate change is undeniable. Climate action is unstoppable. Climate solutions provide opportunities that are unmatchable."

Word of Trump's decision comes a day after the president met with Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Like his boss, Pruitt has questioned climate scientists who claim the Earth is warming and that man-made climate emissions are to blame.

Since taking office, Trump and Pruitt have moved to delay or roll back federal regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions while pledging to revive the long-struggling U.S. coal mines.

What is not yet clear is whether Trump plans to initiate a formal withdrawal from the Paris accord, which under the terms of the agreement could take three years, or exit the underlying U.N. climate change treaty on which the accord was based.

The U.S. is the world's second largest emitter of carbon, following only China. Beijing, however, has reaffirmed its commitment to meeting its targets under the Paris accord, recently canceling construction of about 100 coal-fired power plants and investing billions in massive wind and solar projects.

Fox News’ John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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