Trump still undecided on Paris Climate Agreement, says White House

The group of Senate Democrats said that the US participation in the climate pact was key to American competition and leadership on the international stage.

Washington, May 25: Senate Democrats have urged US President Donald Trump to remain a part of the Paris Climate Agreement. The White House has said that the President is yet to make up his mind.

During a press conference on Wednesday, the White House said Trump was still deciding even as 40 Senate Democrats signed and sent a letter to him to not back out of the international climate change pact.

This was in anticipation of the Group of Seven (G7) conference in Sicily this week, which would be Trump's first appearance at an international summit, CBS News reported.

However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that the Trump administration was "leaning towards withdrawing the US from the pact.

The group of Senate Democrats also said that the US participation in the climate pact was key to American competition and leadership on the international stage, especially with regard to China.

"Imagine that: Donald Trump, who campaigned repeatedly that China was eating our lunch and taking our jobs, is willing to cede both economic and moral ground to China," Schumer added.

The climate agreement was signed in 2016, during Barack Obama's presidency at the COP21 conference in Paris, where nations committed to slowing the effects of climate change through cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier in May, Trump delayed a meeting on the Paris Climate Agreement, citing "scheduling conflicts" for the postponement.

The White House has said the President will announce the US' position on the agreement after the G7 conference, the CBSNews report said.

If the Trump administration were to pull out of the pact, the US would join just two other nations --Syria and Nicaragua -- that have not signed the agreement.

Critics of the Paris Climate Agreement argue that the promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 per cent was too steep of a promise and may jeopardize the US economy.

These critics argue that the US should either back out of the agreement or go to the Senate for a vote. If the agreement did reach the Republican-controlled Senate for ratification, it would likely fail, the CBSNews report said.

IANS