Ahead of the G7 Summit, a refresher on the stakes of the Paris Accord

French President Francois Hollande, right, French Foreign Minister and president of the COP21 Laurent Fabius, second, right, United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres and United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon applaud after the final conference at the COP21, the United Nations conference on climate change, in Le Bourget, north of Paris, Saturday, Dec.12, 2015. Governments have adopted a global agreement that for the first time asks all countries to reduce or rein in their greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier this month, amidst mounting pressure and infighting, the Trump administration said it would make its decision on whether to pull out of the Paris Accord after the G7 summit.

Pulling out of the international climate change mitigation agreement was one of Trump’s campaign promises. But with rising pressure from lawmakers in the U.S., business leaders, foreign leaders who will be rubbing shoulders with Trump at the summit and even Pope Francis, it’s unclear what Trump’s decision will be.

With the summit starting Friday, we’re taking a step back and doing a refresher on the Paris Accord. What is it? When did it start? And what are the environmental, foreign policy and economic stakes of the U.S. pulling out of the agreement?

Guest:

Jess Shankleman, reporter at Bloomberg News, where she covers business, renewable energy and climate change; she tweets

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