Trump Announcing Decision on Paris Climate Deal

Trump is set to announce his decision at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Update: Trump announced the U.S. will withdraw from the deal. Head here for the full story.

Building suspense about America's role in the world, President Donald Trump plans to announce Thursday whether the U.S. would stay in a global climate pact. The White House signaled withdrawal was likely, but Trump has been known to change his mind at the last minute on such major decisions.

A White House official said Wednesday Trump is expected to pull the United States from a landmark agreement, though there could be "caveats in the language" announcing a withdrawal, leaving open the possibility that his decision isn't final. Trump himself said Wednesday he was still listening to "a lot of people both ways."

Trump is announcing his decision at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, a Rose Garden event he promoted on his own Twitter account on Wednesday night.

I will be announcing my decision on Paris Accord, Thursday at 3:00 P.M. The White House Rose Garden. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2017

Leonardo DiCaprio joined the chorus of Hollywood stars and politicians urging Trump to not pull out of the accord. "I hope you’ll make the moral decision today to protect future generations," he tweeted hours ahead of Trump's announcement.

Exiting the deal would fulfill a central campaign pledge from the president, but would be certain to anger allies who spent years negotiating the accord to reduce carbon emissions.

Trump first tweeted Wednesday morning: "I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017

While Trump currently favors an exit, he has been known to change his thinking on major decisions and tends to seek counsel from a range of inside and outside advisers, many with differing agendas, until the last minute.

Trump's top aides have been divided on the accord. On Wednesday afternoon, Trump was to meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has favored remaining in the deal. Chief strategist Steve Bannon supports an exit, while senior adviser Jared Kushner generally thinks the deal is bad, but would like to find a way to see if the U.S. emissions targets can be changed.

Nearly 200 nations, including the United States under President Barack Obama's administration, agreed in 2015 to voluntarily reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to combat climate change. Withdrawing would leave the United States aligned only with Russia among the world's industrialized economies in rejecting action to combat climate change.

Trump pledged during his presidential campaign to withdraw the U.S. from the pact immediately after taking office, but had wavered on the issue since winning the election.

During Trump's overseas trip last week, European leaders pressed him to keep the U.S. in the pact. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Trump at length about the issue during a meeting in Brussels, and even at the Vatican, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin made his own pro-Paris pitch to Trump and his advisers.

News of Trump's expected decision drew swift reaction from the United Nations. The organization's main Twitter page quoted Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as saying, "Climate change is undeniable. Climate change is unstoppable. Climate solutions provide opportunities that are unmatchable."

The Sierra Club's executive director, Michael Brune, called the expected move a "historic mistake which our grandchildren will look back on with stunned dismay at how a world leader could be so divorced from reality and morality."

Trump claimed before taking office that climate change was a "hoax" created by the Chinese to hurt the U.S. economy. Such an assertion stands in defiance of broad scientific consensus.

But Trump's chief White House economic adviser, Gary Cohn, told reporters during the trip abroad that Trump's views on climate change were "evolving" following the president's discussions with European leaders.

Word of Trump's expected decision comes a day after the president met with Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Like his boss, Pruitt has questioned the consensus of climate scientists that the Earth is warming and that man-made climate emissions are to blame.

Once in power, Trump and Pruitt have moved to delay or roll back federal regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions while pledging to revive the long-struggling U.S. coal mines.

What is not yet clear is whether Trump plans to initiate a formal withdrawal from the Paris accord, which under the terms of the agreement could take three years, or exit the underlying U.N. climate change treaty on which the accord was based.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and 21 other Republican sent Trump a letter last week urging him to follow through on his campaign pledge to pull out of the climate accord. Most of the senators who signed are from states that depend on the continued burning of coal, oil and gas.

There have been influential voices urging Trump not to ditch the Paris accord. Forty Democratic senators sent Trump a letter urging him to stay in, saying a withdrawal would hurt America's credibility and influence on the world stage.

Hundreds of high-profile businesses have spoken out in favor of the deal, including Apple, Google and Walmart. Even fossil fuel companies such as Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell say the United States should abide by the deal.

The U.S. is the world's second-largest emitter of carbon, following only China. Beijing, however, has reaffirmed its commitment to meeting its targets under the Paris accord, recently canceling construction of about 100 coal-fired power plants and investing billions in massive wind and solar projects.

Many in Hollywood and politics were swift to react to the news Wednesday morning, with actor Don Cheadle referencing Trump's response to Kathy Griffin's controversial photo shoot to drive his point home, and Steven Pasquale noting Trump's "covfefe" conundrum.

If you care about your kids maybe reconsider your #ParisAgreement decision. Barron will thank you when he sees you, whenever that is. https://t.co/Wfb8SSksjT — Don Cheadle (@DonCheadle) May 31, 2017

Regardless of what governments do, the global momentum stimulated by the #ParisAgreement is growing https://t.co/ymzaXX1fkH pic.twitter.com/ZlcgjY2hc0 — Richard Branson (@richardbranson) May 31, 2017

FYI: "The #ParisAgreement establishes the enduring framework the world needs to solve the climate crisis." -@BarackObama, December 2015 — Women's March (@womensmarch) May 31, 2017

i'm trying to figure out the meaning of backing out the #ParisAgreement https://t.co/yLon2vdf4x — Questlove Gomez (@questlove) May 31, 2017

Such a shame. Denying the Paris accord and overwhelming sciencefefe. — steven pasquale (@StevePasquale) May 31, 2017

Rising seas and extreme weather have already devastated parts of our state. I urge the federal government to remain in the #ParisAgreement. pic.twitter.com/sRyGPqs8Re — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 31, 2017

But we'll take matters into our own hands. I plan to sign an executive order maintaining New York City’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. https://t.co/8oByikDt7C — Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 31, 2017

So this horrible, idiotic, disgrace of a human being who is at the end of his wretched life is now pulling out of the Paris climate deal? — yvette nicole brown (@YNB) May 31, 2017

If @realdonaldtrump withdraws from #ParisAgreement, the US will be 1 of only 3 countries not participating: https://t.co/vGBGPgzh9E — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 31, 2017

It's all fun and covfefe until he takes our clean air away. #ParisAgreement — Molly McNearney (@mollymcnearney) May 31, 2017

Abandoning the #ParisAgreement would be catastrophic for our planet, for ourselves, and for our kids. https://t.co/DGWMPX497K — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 31, 2017

We can't let Pres @BarackObama's global effort to reduce carbon pollution with the #ParisAgreement be undone in one fell swoop. pic.twitter.com/JvfTMl7NEy — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 24, 2017

Our children & our grandchildren have all just been handed a dark future because of a man who tweets at 3:00 AM & doesn't "trust" science https://t.co/UWJWiZijfo — Josh Gad (@joshgad) May 31, 2017

May Mar-a-Lago sink into the rising tide. You are a Terrible, Terrible leader. #Parisclimateaccord — Ana Gasteyer (@AnaGasteyer) May 31, 2017

You're so vain, I bet you think the Paris Accord is about you.

Don't you?

Don't you? — Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) May 31, 2017

"Ivanka lobbying her father against withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement" is a story clearly planted by a failing shoe brand PR rep. — andy lassner (@andylassner) May 31, 2017

2 Ppl of The.Pls Know There R "MILLIONS"Of Us ing Held Hostage By Insane DICTATOR??He Trashes'n Values &Admires Killers #ParisAccordNOW — Cher (@cher) May 31, 2017

Yeah, who cares about climate change? Only every single person with a child. Republicans in congress need to end this childish mayhem. — Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) May 31, 2017

Does he realize that as much money as he may have he cannot buy his children and grandchildren a new planet? https://t.co/6Jn988WVjc — Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) May 31, 2017

If this is true he will have the death of whole nations on his hands. People will be looking to the USA for retribution for what they loose. https://t.co/SDnsYSswyv — Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) May 31, 2017

What a huge step backward. We should be leading the world on this. #ActOnClimate https://t.co/h8rbyV5Rvt — Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen) May 31, 2017

Don't know which way Paris will go, but I've done all I can to advise directly to POTUS, through others in WH & via councils, that we remain — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2017

Will have no choice but to depart councils in that case — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2017

June 1, 12:55 a.m. ET: Updated with DiCaprio tweet