President Donald Trump’s advisors are clashing over whether or not the United States should pull out of the Paris Agreement, the global climate accord to keep temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius, the New York Timesreports. Stephen Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist and a climate change denier, is advocating for the president to fulfill his campaign promise to “cancel” the agreement. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and First Daughter Ivanka Trump caution that the move could damage foreign relations, according to the Times.
As Ted Scheinmanreported from the United Nations climate conference in Marrakech, Morocco, last year, environmental leaders from around the globe hoped that Trump might “surround himself with sensible advisors, especially on climate.” But, just in case, the scientists and diplomats in attendance were scheming about how to influence the businessman-turned-politician. “In one of the most interesting schemes, luminaries from the world of haute couture will work to enlist Ivanka Trump as an advocate for the climate in her father’s administration,” Scheinman wrote. It’s unclear if the president will be swayed by his daughter’s arguments, but, in the meantime, he is expected to continue issuing executive orders directing Environmental Protection Agency officials to dismantle Barack Obama-era environmental regulations.
