U.S. to attend UN climate summit as it considers Paris pullout

WASHINGTON – The United States said Friday it will continue attending United Nations climate change meetings, even as President Donald Trump considers pulling the U.S. out of a global emissions-cutting deal.

The decision to participate in next week’s U.N. climate talks in Bonn, Germany, shouldn’t be construed as a sign that Trump has decided to stay in the global pact, known as the Paris agreement, a State Department official said. To the contrary, the U.S. will be sending a “much smaller” delegation than it has in years past, the official added.

The conflicting signals suggested the administration was trying to keep its options open while Trump deliberates about whether to withdraw from Paris, a move that would be strongly opposed by the international community.

Under the Paris deal, brokered by former President Barack Obama and world leaders in 2015, nations agreed to non-binding pledges to cap or reduce emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. The pact helped solidify a global consensus about addressing climate change that environmental groups worry may be undermined if the world’s largest economy withdraws.

“If the U.S. pulls out, it will be a pariah,” said Andrew Light, a climate adviser at the World Resources Institute. “It will be on the sidelines, and that’s going to hurt American businesses.”

Trump, as a candidate, threatened to “cancel” the deal, but since taking office has said he’s studying it to make a final determination. Trump has said he plans to make the decision in the next few weeks. U.S. officials say the timeline is being driven by the Group of 7 summit, which Trump will attend late this month in Italy. Trump needs to announce a decision before that summit so that leaders can determine whether and how to address climate change issues during the G-7.

The State Department official said that the U.S. was focused on ensuring that no decisions are made in Bonn next week “that would prejudice our future policy,” undermine competitiveness for American businesses or restrict U.S. economic growth. The official wasn’t authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity.

The U.S. delegation will be led by Trigg Talley, the U.S. deputy special envoy for climate change. The Trump administration has left the special envoy role vacant after the official who held the position in the Obama administration departed.

Under the Paris deal, the U.S. committed to cut its emissions 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025, compared to 2005 levels. Since Trump took office, the U.S. has started deconstructing the set of regulations and climate policies that Obama put in place to help achieve the U.S. target.

But former Obama administration officials argue that because the targets are non-binding and can be updated, the Trump administration could remain in the Paris deal even if it acknowledges it will not achieve the 2025 target that Obama set. Though the agreement envisioned updated targets being more ambitious – not less – there’s nothing prohibiting a country from downgrading its targets, the Obama officials have said.

Even if Trump announces his intention to withdraw, the lengthy divorce process and other stipulations in the deal mean that the U.S. would remain in the pact at least until November 2020 – around the same date as the next U.S. presidential election.