An internal U.S. State Department memo says the Paris climate accord imposes few obligations on the United States, bolstering the case for Trump administration officials who want to stay in the deal.
The document, marked as a draft, makes no explicit recommendation about whether the U.S. should remain part of the pact. It circulated ahead of a scheduled meeting of top administration officials Thursday to discuss whether President Donald Trump should fulfill his campaign pledge to exit the deal.
While there are some binding provisions in the agreement, those "legal obligations are relatively few and are generally process-oriented," the three-page memo said. Under terms of the agreement, the U.S. couldn't formally exit until 2019. It faces no specific reporting requirements until 2021, the document says.