Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) — This week marks the first time President Donald Trump can actually begin the steps to pull the U.S. out of the landmark Paris climate agreement.
Under that deal, nearly 200 countries set their own national targets for reducing or controlling pollution of heat-trapping gases.
While Trump has talked about taking the U.S. out of the agreement, the terms of the deal don't allow any country to withdraw during the agreement's first three years. That period ends on Monday.
The State Department says the Trump administration's position hasn't changed and that the U.S. intends to withdraw from the Paris agreement.
But withdrawal isn't immediate. A year must pass for withdrawal to become official, which would be after the 2020 election. That means a new president could rejoin the accords.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
