What Will Trump Do To The Environment? Ivanka And Jared Kushner Had To Stop President From Dropping Paris Climate Deal

Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser, had to talk President Donald Trump out of slamming an international agreement that seeks to reduce pollution and climate change, the Wall Street Journal exclusively reported Thursday. The couple convinced the president to avoid taking action against the deal approved by 195 countries in an executive order that is expected to be made public next week.

Trump's order seeks to undo former President Barack Obama's environmental and climate regulations, including a 2015 rule capping greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants and a moratorium on federal land coal leasing. Trump and other critics argue such policies exceed the authority of the federal government and hurt economic growth. Trump has also said he will back coal miners who voted for him in November.

“The miners are a big deal,” he said earlier this month. “I've had support from some of these folks right from the very beginning, and I won't forget it.”

Trump has in the past declared climate change a hoax created by China and vowed to undo the so-called Paris deal reached by the Obama administration in December 2015. Of the nearly 200 nations that signed on to the deal, the U.S. is the second-biggest producer of carbon dioxide, meaning Washington's exit from the agreement could effectively render it meaningless.

Trump’s White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus has said of the president's views of the deal: “He’ll have an open mind about it but he has his default position, which is that most of it is a bunch of bunk, but he’ll have an open mind and listen to people.”

But Ivanka Trump could persuade her father to keep the U.S.' word and uphold the agreement. The president's oldest daughter who moved to Washington this year to help his administration reportedly is interested in championing environmental issues, Politico reported. It's not exactly clear what that means or what her views on climate change or the Paris deal are.

Family friend and businessman Carl Icahn has said: “I think her father respects her a great deal, and not just because she’s his daughter.”

Obama urged Trump to adhere to the Paris deal in November after the election. The deal "says to China and India and other counties that are potentially polluting: come on board. Let's work together so you guys can do the same thing," Obama said at the time.