Apr 13, 2017

Trump administration vs. global climate accord

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

Chatter is building on whether the Trump administration will stay or withdraw from a global climate accord, struck in 2015 by nearly 200 nations, ahead of the administration's anticipated decision by the end of next month.

Driving the news: George David Banks, a top advisor in the Trump White House for global climate and energy issues, is working to keep the U.S. government in the deal while throwing out the Obama administration's pledge to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions specific levels.

The other side: Myron Ebell, a top expert at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and former transition advisor for Trump's EPA, represents the right flank of the GOP that wants America out of the climate deal altogether. He says he prefers the administration pull out entirely, but his rhetoric is softening oh so slightly, and he's saying now that no matter what decision is made, it'll be portrayed as withdrawal.

"I'm pretty sure whatever they do they're going to say it's withdrawal," Ebell told Axios. "There are different ways to withdraw."

What that means: Ebell says the Trump administration could withdraw President Obama's pledge, which is the current leading possibility.

Reality check: During the campaign, Trump said he would "cancel" the Paris deal, which is technically impossible. Dropping Obama's pledge is also not technically withdrawing from the deal, but it's a nuanced detail that can easily be overlooked and massaged as necessary in rallies and meetings when appropriate by administration officials.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 1,484,811 — Total deaths: 88,538 — Total recoveries: 329,876 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 432,132 — Total deaths: 14,817 — Total recoveries: 23,906 — Map.
Federal government latest: Top Trump administration officials had been developing a plan to give cloth masks to huge numbers of Americans, but the idea lost traction amid heavy internal skepticism.
States latest: New York has reported more cases than the most-affected countries in Europe. Chicago's Cook County jail is largest-known source of coronavirus in U.S.
Business: One-third of U.S. jobs are at risk of disappearing, mostly affecting low-income workers.
World: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries to put politics aside "if you don’t want to have many more body bags.”
Environment: COVID-19 is underscoring the connection between air pollution and dire outcomes from respiratory diseases.
Tech: A new report recommends stimulus spending to help close the digital divide revealed by social distancing.
What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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