Republican lawmakers urge Trump to weaken Paris climate pact pledge
Source: Reuters
POLITICS | Thu Apr 27, 2017 | 12:36pm EDT
Republican lawmakers urge Trump to weaken Paris climate pact pledge
By Timothy Gardner | WASHINGTON
A group of nine Republican lawmakers urged President Donald Trump to keep the United States in the 2015 Paris climate agreement but to reduce its pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions, as Trump advisors were set on Thursday to discuss whether to leave the pact.
Representative Kevin Cramer of oil-producing North Dakota and eight other members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Trump urging him to use the country's "seat at the Paris table to defend and promote our commercial interest, including our manufacturing and fossil fuel sectors."
If the United States is to stay in the 2015 agreement, Washington should present a new emissions cutting pledge that "does no harm to our economy," the letter said.
Former president Barack Obama, a Democrat, had pledged a 26 percent to 28 percent cut in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels, by 2025. Most scientists say the world needs to curb greenhouse gas emissions to limit the effects of climate change including rising seas, deadly heatwaves, and severe storms and droughts.
White House advisors and Trump administration officials were set to meet on Thursday at 1:30 P.M. EDT (1730 GMT) to hold an initial discussion on whether to stay in the pact.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-climate-idUSKBN17T2JS
