No decision yet on staying in Paris climate accord: US

The United States has made no decision yet on whether it will continue to participate in the Paris accord on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, the Trump administration said Wednesday.

"The Paris Agreement is still under discussion within the administration," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

Without once mentioning climate change, President Donald Trump on Tuesday launched an initiative to dismantle his predecessor Barack Obama's plans to limit emissions by coal-fired power plants and other regulations aimed at meeting Paris accord commitments.

During his campaign for the US presidency, vowed that if elected he would scrap US participation in the Paris Agreement.

After his November 8 election, however, Trump has been evasive on the subject, at one point saying he had "an open mind."

His secretary of state, former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing that the United States should stay in the agreement, which was reached in Paris in December 2015 after years of negotiations.

"I think it's important that the United States maintain its seat at the table in the conversation on how to address threats of climate change. They do require a global response. No one country is going to solve this alone," he said.

Scott Pruitt, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said Sunday he thought the Paris Agreement was a "bad deal" that would cost US jobs.

Source: Ahram online