Trump’s Paris decision looms as allies and business pile on pressure

Mr Trump is widely expected to abandon the Paris accord, in line with a key pledge of his presidential campaign and with what White House aides have signalled.

But leaders across the world have urged Mr Trump to keep the commitment up.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that fighting climate change is a “global consensus” and an “international responsibility”.

“China in recent years has stayed true to its commitment,” Mr Li said during a visit to Berlin.

The president of the EU Council, Donald Tusk, has urged Mr Trump to change his mind, tweeting: “Please don’t change the (political) climate for the worse.”

Theresa May said she and other G7 leaders at a summit in Italy last week made clear the importance they attach to the Paris deal in talks to the US President.

Speaking at an electoral campaign, Mrs May stopped short of challenging him, saying: “It is up to the President of the United States to decide what position the United States is going to take on this matter, but we retain our commitment to the Paris agreement.”

The Foreign Secretary also refused to be drawn on what his response would be if Mr Trump withdraws from the Paris agreement.

Boris Johnson told Sky News: “I continue to lobby the US at all levels to continue to take climate change extremely seriously and to show the leadership that America has shown in the past.”

He said that, regardless of federal policy, American states have shown “considerable leaderships” in cutting emissions.

Mr Trump is due to make an announcement at 3pm local time (8pm UK time) in the Rose Garden of the White House.

On Wednesday afternoon, the President offered little clue to what he will do, saying: “I’m hearing from a lot of people both ways – both ways, believe me.”

The Paris deal, which was brokered by Barack Obama in 2015, commits nations to curbing carbon emissions. It was the first legally binding global deal to fight climate change.

Under the deal, Mr Obama committed the US to cutting its emissions by between 26% and 28% from 2005 levels by 2025.

But Mr Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, blasted the deal in the run-up to his election, saying it weakens the US economy.

Instead, he has vowed to boost America’s coal and oil industries.

His aides are said to be split over the issue, with his daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump reportedly against a withdrawal.

Some aides have been searching for a middle ground, perhaps by renegotiating the terms of the agreement.

And the President is coming under pressure from business leaders as well.

Companies including Apple, Google and Walmart – and even fossil fuel companies such as Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell – say the United States should abide by the deal.

Tesla’s Elon Musk threatened to quit White House advisory councils if the President pulls out.

A withdrawal would leave the US in the company of Syria and Nicaragua as the world’s only non-participants in the 195-nation accord.

It would also deepen a rift with US allies in Europe and elsewhere.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker stressed a withdrawal would take years, saying: “The Americans can’t just leave the climate protection agreement.

In unusually dismissive terms, he added: “Mr Trump believes that because he doesn’t know the details.”

“This notion, ‘I am Trump, I am American, America first and I am getting out,’ that is not going to happen.” – news.sky.com