Donald Trump To Exit #ParisClimateDeal: Read Statement

President Trump will start the process of exiting the Paris climate change agreement, White House officials told allies Thursday.

Aides broke the news in separate calls with congressional staffers and officials from conservative think tanks, all of whom oppose the Paris deal, sources said.

The White House also distributed written talking points for allies framing the agreement as a bad deal for the United States that threatens the economy and was poorly negotiated.

Trump is due to formally announce the Paris exit Thursday afternoon at a White House ceremony.

The administration will exit the pact through the formal procedure laid out in it, so the withdrawal will not be official until 2020, the sources said.