Donald Trump likely to withdraw from Paris climate deal

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Washington: US President Donald Trump is likely to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate change agreement which was a major foreign policy legacy of his predecessor Barack Obama, media reports said on Wednesday.

In a tweet, Trump said he would be announcing his decision on the 2015 Paris climate deal in the next few days.

"I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days. Make America great again!," Trump said.

Two major news outlets Axis and CBS News reported that the US President had made a decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change and the administration has been informing world leaders about it.

"Details on just how exactly the US will be withdrawing are still being worked out by a team that includes EPA administrator Scott Pruitt," CBS News reported.

"A full, formal withdrawal could take up to three years to execute, unravelling one of former President Barack Obama's major achievements in office to reduce the impacts of climate change," it added.

The Pruitt team is deciding on whether to initiate a full, formal withdrawal which could take three years or exit the underlying United Nations climate change treaty, which would be faster but more extreme, Axis reported.

"Pulling out of Paris is the biggest thing Trump could do to unravel Obama's climate legacy. It sends a combative signal to the rest of the world that America doesn't prioritise climate change and threatens to unravel the ambition of the entire deal," it said.

According to 'The Hill' newspaper, the move marks a dramatic departure from the Obama administration, which was instrumental in crafting the deal.

"It also makes the US an outlier among the world's nations, nearly all of whom support the climate change accord," it said.

A day earlier, Trump on return from his maiden overseas trip met with Pruitt.

"One of the topics that they discussed, of course, was the President's upcoming decision on the Paris Climate Accords," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at his daily news conference.

This is the subject that the President is spending a great deal of time on, and one that he spoke to the G7 members about during their meetings, he said.

"Ultimately, he wants a fair deal for the American people and he will have an announcement coming on that shortly," Spicer said.

Meanwhile, influential Republican Senator Ted Cruz yesterday urged the US President to withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change.

Earlier, a group of 22 Republican Senators including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a letter urged Trump to withdraw from the agreement.