In yet another blow to President Obama’s utopian legacy, Axios is reporting that two sources with direct knowledge of the decision confirm President Trump has made his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
Having tweeted last week – after upsetting Merkel et al. at the G7…
I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2017
It appears Trump has made his decision. Axios notes that 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.
Trump’s decision reportedly follows a letter from 22 Republican Senators (including Mitch McConnell) that called for a clean exit had reinforced Trump’s instincts to withdraw, and the president had been telling confidants over the past week that he was going to pull out.
“Because of existing provisions within the Clean Air Act and others embedded in the Paris Agreement, remaining in it would subject the United States to significant litigation risk that could upend your Administration’s ability to fulfill its goal of rescinding the Clean Power Plan. Accordingly, we strongly encourage you to make a clean break from the Paris Agreement.”
Trump joins Nicaragua and Syria as the 3 nations that are not supportive of the climate accord, and as Axios concludes, 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 prioritize climate change and threatens to unravel the ambition of the entire deal.
via http://ift.tt/2rTCLxK Tyler Durden