The Trump administration is causing yet more political whiplash on the issue of climate change. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. may remain in the Paris climate accord—the hard-fought UN agreement to wind down emissions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, ratified by 194 countries—after President Trump’s extremely public announcement that the U.S. would withdraw.
But on Monday morning, the president’s communications staff stressed that the article misinterpreted statements by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and confirmed that the U.S. will remain out of the landmark compact—unless it is renegotiated, which no international party is eager to do.
