WH denies Trump is softening stance on Paris climate deal

The White House on Saturday denied reports that the Trump administration is no longer seeking to withdraw from the Paris climate deal.

“There has been no change in the United States’ position on the Paris agreement. As the President has made abundantly clear, the United States is withdrawing unless we can re-enter on terms that are more favorable to our country,” said White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters in a statement.

Multiple reports surfaced on Saturday saying the administration had appeared to soften its stance toward the deal.

{mosads}A top European Union climate official told AFP that the U.S. had signaled it was no longer planning to renegotiate the nonbinding treaty.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that President Trump was not planning to pull out of the deal. 

“The U.S. has stated that they will not renegotiate the Paris accord, but they will try to review the terms on which they could be engaged under this agreement,” said the EU’s commissioner for climate action and energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, according to the Journal.

Withdrawing was one of Trump’s key promises during his presidential campaign.

In June, a newly elected Trump publicly rejected the deal, which he called “unfair at the highest level to the United States.”

The initial decision to pull out was seen as a rebuke to the international community, which agreed on the treaty in 2015.