As United States President Donald Trump contemplates whether to make good on his campaign promise to pull the US out of the United Nations sponsored Paris Agreement on climate change, an unlikely lobbying force is hoping to talk him out of it: oil and coal producers plus his daughter Ivanka Trump.

A pro-Paris Agreement bloc within the administration has recruited energy companies to lend their support to the global pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to two people familiar with the effort who asked not to be identified.

Bloomberg newsagency reports Cheniere Energy, which exports liquefied natural gas, became the latest company to weigh in for the pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions in a letter to White House energy adviser G David Banks.

“Domestic energy companies are better positioned to compete globally if the United States remains a party to the Paris agreement,” Cheniere wrote.

The accord “is a useful instrument for fostering demand for America’s energy resources and supporting the continued growth of American industry.”

Exxon Mobil, previously led by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Royal Dutch Shell and BP also have endorsed the pact.

The industry campaign to stick with the Paris accord comes amid deep divisions in the Trump administration over the carbon-cutting agreement.

Both the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, a White House special adviser, have urged the president to stay in the deal, along with Mr Tillerson.

On the other side are senior adviser Stephen Bannon and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who said “we need to exit” the pact.

Bloomberg reports gas producers and exporters are highlighting the value of the agreement, which could help prod a worldwide move toward that fossil fuel.

Exxon Mobil argued in a letter last month that US slashed its carbon emissions to 20-year lows because of greater use of natural gas, and “this success can be replicated globally” as part of the accord.

BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the company continues to support the Paris deal, noting that “it’s possible to provide the energy the world needs while also addressing the climate challenge.”

Bloomberg reports Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said the company remains “strongly in favour” of the agreement.

Coal producers Cloud Peak Energy and Peabody Energy also are lobbying in favour of the accord, even though the miners could be disadvantaged by a global shift toward cleaner sources of electricity.

Cloud Peak pitches the Paris Agreement as a platform for the US to advocate using carbon capture and other high-efficiency, low-emissions technology to generate electricity from coal.

President Trump is nearing a decision on whether he will fulfill repeated pledges to withdraw the US from the accord he previously derided as “bad for US business.”

The White House postponed a planned Tuesday meeting of senior administration officials, including Mr Pruitt, Mr Tillerson, Mr Kushner and Mr Bannon, to go over the pros and cons of staying in the agreement, according to an aide citing a scheduling conflict.

The administration will decide what to do before late next month, when world leaders gather for the Group of Seven summit in Italy, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.

The Paris Agreement itself is really an array of individual, country-specific pledges, such as the US promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 26 per cent from 2005 levels by 2025.

It is not legally binding and there are no formal sanctions in place for failure to comply.

White House officials who support Paris highlight the lack of repercussions.

A key argument is that the US can stay in the agreement without satisfying its pledge or maintaining regulations designed to help achieve the target, said one administration official.