WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump will announce Thursday whether the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, as aides reportedly said a pullout is likely.

“I will be announcing my decision on Paris Accord, Thursday at 3:00 pm. The White House Rose Garden. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the US leader said in a tweet late Wednesday, punctuating the post with his populist campaign slogan.Trump has not given any indication of which way he is leaning, saying he’d been “hearing from a lot of people, both ways. Both ways.”America’s international allies and Trump’s domestic opponents lashed out Wednesday at media reports that he had made up his mind to pull the United States out of the global accord to curb carbon emissions, a move that would make the deal less effective.The White House did not confirm those reports and it was unclear whether Trump would fully scrap US participation or merely water down US emissions objectives.An American withdrawal would come fewer than 18 months after the historic 196-nation pact was signed in the French capital — the fruit of a hard-fought agreement between Beijing and Washington under Barack Obama’s leadership.The European Union and China indicated they would press ahead with the deal, regardless of US participation.The United States is the world’s second biggest carbon emitter, after China.”China and the EU… will implement the agreement,” a senior EU official told reporters on Wednesday, on condition of anonymity.”The Paris Agreement will continue with full force of implementation even if the US pulls out.”Under Trump, who once called climate change a “hoax,” the country has resisted intense pressure from its partners to commit to respecting the global accord.The White House had previously indicated that Trump could simply recalibrate emissions targets.Under Obama, Washington had pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.Nancy Pelosi, one of the top Democrats in Congress, described the apparent decision as a “stunning abdication of American leadership and a grave threat to our planet’s future.”