Trump to announce his decision on Paris deal soon
June 01, 2017  23:43
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President Donald Trump has said that he will announce his decision on whether the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord on Thursday, amid strong indications he may pull out of the landmark deal isolating America in international efforts to fight global warming.

Withdrawing from the Paris agreement was one of the major campaign promises of Trump, who has previously called climate change a 'hoax' and last week brushed aside pressure from US allies during the G7 summit in Sicily to endorse the deal his predecessor Barack Obama worked passionately to achieve.

'I will be announcing my decision on Paris accord, Thursday at 3 pm (12.30 am Friday). The White House Rose Garden. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,' Trump tweeted.

Two US news organisations -- Axis and CBS News -- reported that Trump had made a decision to withdraw from the deal and the administration has been informing world leaders about it.

Doing so will isolate the US as 195 countries agree on the 2015 Paris accord.

Syria and Nicaragua are the only two countries who have not signed the historic 2015 accord.

Nicaragua did not sign the deal because it apparently believed the agreement was not enough to combat climate change and would not punish those who failed to meet their voluntary pledges, while war-torn Syria was effectively internationally isolated when the accord was first signed.

Through the Paris accord, world leaders agreed in 2015 to cut carbon emissions to keep global temperatures from rising 1.5C above where they were before the Industrial Revolution.

Trump's reported decision has been criticised by former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who said withdrawing from the agreement would impact of America's global standing. -- PTI
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