Yahoo News 
Donald Trump set to withdraw US from the Paris climate deal
The White House has signalled Donald Trump’s intent to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord.
Nearly 200 nations, including the US, agreed in the 2015 deal to voluntarily reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to combat climate change.
However, Trump – who has called global warming a “hoax” – promised during his presidential campaign to pull the US out of the deal.
He dropped a further hint on Twitter this morning, writing: “I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Now a White House official says the President will soon pull out – although he added there may be “caveats in the language” that Trump uses to announce the withdrawal, leaving open the possibility that the decision is not final.
Withdrawing would leave just the US and Russia among the world’s industrialised economies in refusing to tackle climate change.
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Trump’s decision comes a day after he met Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Like his boss, Mr Pruitt has questioned the consensus of climate scientists that the Earth is warming and that man-made climate emissions are to blame.
Since taking office, the pair have moved to delay or roll back federal regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions while pledging to revive long-struggling US coal mines.
I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017
What is not yet clear is whether Trump plans to initiate a formal withdrawal from the Paris accord, which under the terms of the agreement could take three years, or exit the underlying UN climate change treaty on which the accord was based.
The US is the world’s second largest emitter of carbon, second only to China.
The news from the White House led to a swift and strong reaction from the United Nations.
The UN’s main Twitter page quotes secretary-general Antonio Guterres as saying: “Climate change is undeniable. Climate change is unstoppable.
“Climate solutions provide opportunities that are unmatchable.”
Top pic: Rex
