The Trump administration pushed to remove all references to climate change in an international statement on Arctic policy, despite the fact that the Arctic is warming at about twice the rate of the rest of the world, The Washington Post reports Thursday. Initially, the Post reports, Trump tried to stonewall the negotiations on the non-binding declaration by pledging not to sign a document that mentioned climate change. Three sources from the eight Arctic Council member states said, however, that the administration’s stance has softened in recent days. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Finland for the official two-day session next week. One official told the Post that he expects the final declaration will take a “substantive” and “robust” stance on climate change in the Arctic—but he’s not yet sure if the actual phrase “climate change” will make it in.
