Gary Cohn, who leads the White House’s National Economic Council, on Monday reiterated that President Donald Trump intends to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord.
Cohn made the remarks at a breakfast for international officials focused on energy and climate issues before the beginning of the United Nations General Assembly, a senior White House official told reporters, per the travel pool.
The official said Cohn made it “very clear” to those at the breakfast that the U.S. will withdraw from the agreement pending future negotiations.
“Consistent with the President’s announcement in June, we are withdrawing from the Paris Agreement unless we can reengage on terms more favorable to the United States,” the official said. “This position was made very clear during the breakfast.”
The European Union’s commissioner for climate action and energy Miguel Arias Cañete on Saturday said U.S. officials said they would “review the terms on which they could be engaged” with the Paris accord, CNN reported.
The White House denied that Trump was reconsidering his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement, however, barring its renegotiation to include “terms that are more favorable to our country.”