Trump will ‘definitely’ pull out of Paris climate deal, ex-aide says
President Trump will “definitely” pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, with some action possible within days, according to a former top aide.
Myron Ebell, who led Trump’s transition efforts for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), told reporters in London Monday that the president would stick to his campaign promises, including to stopping the country’s participation in the Paris accord.
“I expect Donald Trump to be very assiduous in keeping his promises, despite all of the flack he is going to get from his opponents,” Ebell said, according to the Independent.
{mosads}“The U.S. will clearly change its course on climate policy. Trump has made it clear he will withdraw from the Paris Agreement. He could do it by executive order tomorrow or he could do it as part of a larger package,” he said, according to Reuters. “There are multiple ways, and I have no idea of the timing.”
Ebell leads the energy and environment policy team at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute. He is no longer involved with the Trump administration and was not speaking on its behalf. He said at the London event that he has not met Trump in person.
The talk came amid some uncertainty about Trump’s plans for the Paris agreement, in which nearly 200 nations agreed in late 2015 to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, the first such accord to have that level of participation.
Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick to lead the State Department, told senators earlier this month that he thinks it’s best for the United States to remain in the Paris agreement.
“We’re better served by being at that table than by leaving that table,” Tillerson said at his confirmation hearing in the Senate.
But Trump promised repeatedly on the campaign trail to “cancel” the Paris accord. Shortly after the election, he told the New York Times that he has an “open mind” about it.
The Times reported last week that Trump is preparing an executive order to formally review whether the United States should stay in the Paris accord and other international agreements.
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