Secretary of State Rex Tillerson believes that if the emissions reduction targets for the United States are weakened in the Paris Agreement on climate change, then the U.S. could stay in the deal.
Tillerson said on “Face The Nation” Sunday that President Trump feels the U.S. commitments to the agreement — in which each country sets its own commitments and there’s no punishment for not following through with them — are too strict.
“We are willing to work with partners in the Paris climate accord, if we can construct a set of terms that we believe is fair and balanced from the American people and recognizes our economy and our economic interest,” he said.
He said the difference in commitments between the United States and China is a sticking point.
“If you look at those targets in terms of the Paris climate accords, they were really out of balance for the world’s two largest economies,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday Trump was not going to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, which both the White House and national security adviser H.R. McMaster called a false story.
However, Tillerson seemed to be closer to agreeing with the Journal’s report.
“Under the right conditions, the president said he’s open to finding those conditions where we can remain engaged with others in what we all agree is a challenging issue,” he said.
Tillerson says open to staying in Paris Accord: POTUS said he’s open to finding right conditions to stay pic.twitter.com/wgXrnaNrUw— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) September 17, 2017
