White House meeting on Paris climate accord postponed

A key White House meeting scheduled for Tuesday to discuss whether the United States will honor the Paris climate change accord has been postponed, an administration official said.

No new date was given for the session, which aims to bring together President Donald Trump—who is flirting with pulling out of the agreement—with top climate and economic advisers.

"It's been postponed," a senior official told AFP on Tuesday.

While campaigning last year, Trump called climate change a hoax perpetrated by China, and promised to cancel the deal if he won the presidency.

Now, after months of uncertainty, he appears to be edging toward a decision on whether to honor the landmark 2015 agreement to limit global warming.

Senior State Department environmental official David Balton said Monday that Trump has indicated he plans to decide over the next couple of weeks whether the US will abide by the accord.

A US withdrawal would seriously undermine global efforts to limit carbon emissions, which the vast majority of experts say are changing the climate in dangerous ways.

The United States is the world's number two carbon polluter, after China.

© 2017 AFP