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Reports have it that U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
CNN quoted two senior US officials familiar with his plans as saying on Wednesday that formal announcement is expected later this week although the plans could change until Trump makes his decision public.
The decision would be a major reversal of the Obama administration’s efforts on climate change.
Trump met Tuesday with a key voice advocating for withdrawal, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. He meets Wednesday with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who supported remaining in the deal.
According to CNN, the precise mechanism for withdrawal hasn’t yet been determined, but Trump has made clear he plans to fulfill his campaign promises to withdraw.
The White House was initially slated to make a final decision on the climate accord earlier this month, but delayed the decision until the G7 meeting in Sicily. At the summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters the climate debate was “controversial” and that the leaders of the other G7 nations — France, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom and Italy — all urged Trump to remain a part of the 2015 agreement.
Aides to Trump said he was listening with an open mind to the other leaders’ arguments about Paris, but had yet to decide whether to withdraw the US from the pact.