Trump has reportedly decided to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord

(Image credit: JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 31 May 2017

President Trump has decided to withdraw from the landmark Paris Climate Agreement signed by former President Barack Obama in 2015, two people familiar with the decision told Axios. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is reportedly hammering out the details: "They're deciding on whether to initiate a full, formal withdrawal — which could take three years — or exit the underlying United Nations Treaty, which would be faster but more extreme," Axios writes.

The Paris agreement, dealing with greenhouse gas emissions, has been signed by every nation except Nicaragua and Syria. Pruitt and Trump have called the global agreement "a bad deal for America."

Climate scientists have expressed alarm at the United States' exit: "A Trump presidency might be game over for the climate. It might make it impossible to stabilize planetary warming below dangerous levels," scientist Michael Mann said. "If Trump makes good on his campaign promises and pulls out of the Paris Treaty, it is difficult to see a path forward to keeping warming below dangerous levels."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.