Donald Trump could pull America out of the Paris Agreement on climate change as early as next week, according to reports.
White House advisers are said to be split on whether to bail out of the agreement but President Trump is reported to be leaning towards withdrawal.
Britain is one of the 195 countries that agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions as part of the deal reached in December 2015, which was the first climate accord to include the US and China, the world’s top polluters.
Mr Trump’s first 100 days as US president have seen moves to roll back some of Barack Obama’s climate change policies would almost certainly prevent the US from meeting its Paris commitment even if it does not formally withdraw.
The Trump administration also fears that by staying, it could trigger legal action from environmentalists already suing the White House over its climate agenda, such as the unravelling of Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan to cut emissions from the utility sector.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, energy secretary Rick Perry and Mr Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka were reportedly on one side urging the president not to pull out altogether but seek to renegotiate the US terms.
However, environmental protection agency chief Scott Pruitt and chief strategist Steve Bannon were in favour of making a clean break.
Both the New York Times and Huffington Post quoted sources saying Mr Trump could pull the plug next week.
It came as Vice President Mike Pence said Mr Trump is “personally committed” to becoming the US president who bring peace to the Middle East as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was due for talks at the White House today.
