DHS Secretary John Kelly is expected to formally withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, according to US media reports.
The decision is expected on Monday.
The news comes after Mr Kelly met with the president and senior officials in the White House on Tuesday, according a White House statement.
“I have always believed that our country is stronger when we work together to address our shared challenges, and I remain committed to the Paris Agreement,” Mr Kelly said in a statement.
It comes after US President Donald Trump said he will withdraw the US from the agreement on Monday after the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), which takes place in the French capital, cancelled its meeting.
Mr Trump was scheduled to meet with other leaders at the COP21 in Marrakech, Morocco, but has postponed the meeting to the second half of the month due to Hurricane Harvey.
“If the President doesn’t want to be part of the agreement, he should take a leave of absence, which he has been doing,” Mr Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“And that’s why we have cancelled our meetings with the rest of the world.”
Mr Kelly, who has also been pushing for the US to withdraw from the pact, is expected in Marrakesh on Tuesday to brief French President Emmanuel Macron on the Paris deal.
The move comes after the president made a “foolish” and “irresponsible” decision to withdraw the country from the deal, Mr Kelly told reporters in the Oval Office.
The announcement comes after a number of Republican lawmakers including Sens Mitch McConnell and Jeff Flake, as well as House Speaker Paul Ryan, said on Monday they would not support the Paris accord if it does not include climate change.
US President Trump meets with members of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC, on November 10, 2021.
The US President is expected tomorrow to formally announce his decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord, according the White, House, and White House websites.
“President Trump has made a foolish and irresponsible decision to end the Paris agreement.
This action will not bring our country anywhere near meeting the goal of limiting the rise in global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius, which is our main objective,” Mr McConnell said in the statement.
“President Obama’s Paris Agreement was an abdication of American leadership and his administration is now setting its sights on leaving the agreement behind,” he added. “
In my view, President Trump’s decision to cancel this meeting is another example of how he is putting our country’s well-being and our future at risk.”
“President Obama’s Paris Agreement was an abdication of American leadership and his administration is now setting its sights on leaving the agreement behind,” he added.
“We will not stand by as this agreement continues to be ignored by our President and our country.”
The US has been under pressure from many nations to pull from the climate deal, including China and India.
China has said the agreement was not sustainable, while India has been accused of “trying to impose its will on others” and threatening to retaliate with tariffs.
China also warned the United Kingdom and the European Union to avoid any future climate talks with the United State, despite the Trump administration’s pledge to “go home”.
Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa have also announced they will not participate in the COP23 climate conference in Marrrakech.
The United States has been a signatory to the agreement since 2015.
The agreement calls for a rise in the temperature of the planet to 2.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.
