Trump administration lawyers to
discuss Paris climate deal
Critics of the accord have been
mounting a behind-the-scenes effort to convince him that sticking with it would
pose legal hurdles.
By ANDREW
RESTUCCIA 4/30/17, 7:42 PM CET Updated
4/30/17, 7:56 PM CET
Trump administration lawyers plan to meet Monday to discuss
the legal implications of remaining in the Paris climate change agreement, two
people familiar with the meeting told POLITICO.
Critics of the 2015 accord have quietly been mounting a
behind-the-scenes effort to convince President Donald Trump that sticking with
the deal would pose legal hurdles.
The meeting is expected to include lawyers from the White
House, National Security Council, State Department and Justice Department, the
sources said, though they said the list of attendees and timing could still
change.
A Thursday meeting of Trump administration officials about
the Paris agreement focused largely on legal issues. Critics of the deal, led
by chief strategist Steve Bannon and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, have
pushed several legal arguments, including that the Paris deal restricts
countries from weakening their domestic emissions-reduction targets and that
any decision to remain could be used in court to counter the administration’s
bid to undo former President Barack Obama’s climate regulations for power
plants.
The Monday meeting was organized after Ivanka Trump, the
president’s daughter and a proponent of remaining in Paris, called for a deeper
assessment of those legal questions after the issue bubbled to the forefront on
Thursday, sources said. Backers of the accord were surprised when the White
House counsel’s office signaled during the Thursday meeting that it agreed with
Pruitt’s legal concerns.
Current and former State Department officials strongly
disagree with Pruitt’s contentions about the legal issues.
The debate over Paris has divided Trump’s team in recent
months. While Bannon and Pruitt are mounting a campaign to withdraw, other
advisers like Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, as well as Secretary
of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster are said to
support staying. Advisers who back remaining have taken a cynical view of
Pruitt’s offensive, privately arguing that he’s trying to cloud the debate by
raising legal concerns they see as invalid.
But conservatives inside and outside the administration
remain shocked that the White House is even considering staying, noting that
Trump promised during the campaign to “cancel” the deal.
Trump, for his part, said in a recent interview that he
would make a final decision in a couple weeks. Though he hasn’t tipped his
hand, he said in the interview that the U.S. is not getting a fair shake,
arguing that other polluting nations aren’t forking over enough money to help
countries cope with climate change.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Authors:
Andrew Restuccia
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário