US' position on Paris Agreement remains unchanged

The Donald Trump administration's position on the 2015 Paris Agreement remains unchanged and the United States intends to withdraw from the climate deal as soon as it is eligible to do so, when the COP24 - the 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is underway in Poland next week.

The annual UN climate conference will be held in Katowice, Poland from December 2-14. Judith Garber, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) at the Department of State, will serve as the US head of delegation, according to an official release.

US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher will represent the country at the World Leaders Summit on December 3. The US delegation will also include officials from the White House, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department of Treasury, the Department of Agriculture, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

"The US is participating in ongoing negotiations, including those related to the Paris Agreement, in order to ensure a level playing field that benefits and protects US interests," the statement said.

In June last year, Trump had announced that the US would withdraw from the Paris Agreement and renegotiate the deal that was agreed upon by over 190 countries during the previous Barack Obama administration. He asserted that the accord would "undermine the US economy and will put the country at a permanent disadvantage" and would "affect American businesses and workers".

The Paris accord is an agreement within the UNFCCC dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance starting in the year 2020. It was negotiated by representatives of 196 parties at the 21st COP conference in Paris and adopted by consensus on December 12, 2015.

The pact aims to respond to the global climate change threat by keeping a global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in the 21st century.

During the COP24 conference in Poland, the US delegation will share successful strategies in growing the economy while providing affordable, abundant, and secure energy to Americans, promoting jobs, protecting the environment, and reducing emissions, the statement said.