Pro-Paris deal protest planned outside White House

Washington, June 1 (IANS) A Washington D.C.-based environmental group has called a last-minute protest on Thursday to oppose President Donald Trump’s expected withdrawal from the Paris climate deal.

The protest, organised by 350 DC group, was announced on Wednesday night and is set to follow Trump’s announcement on Thursday of whether the US will remain a party to the 196-nation agreement aimed at curbing the effects of climate change, The Hill magazine reported.

So far, about 470 Facebook users had committed to going to the protest and more than 1,000 were ‘interested’ in attending.

Trump is reportedly leaning toward a withdrawal from the deal, a move that would signal the President’s strongest effort yet to unravel former President Barack Obama’s environmental policies.

"This decision sends a dangerous signal to the rest of the world that the US doesn’t honour its commitments," the Facebook event page for the protest reads.

"The Paris Agreement was signed by 196 countries and is the backbone of international action to tackle the greatest challenge facing our civilization: climate change."

At the G7 Summit last week, Trump declined to pledge his support for the climate accord, breaking from the group’s other leaders and irking some, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who called climate talks with Trump "unsatisfying".