US to Continue Cutting Greenhouse Gases After Leaving Paris Accord - Tillerson

Attempts by the United States to reduce emissions responsible for global warming are unlikely to change despite President Donald Trump’s announcement that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris accord on climate change, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — During a visit to Brazil, Tillerson said the United States has already achieved substantial reductions in greenhouse gasses apart from the Paris accord and that the trend will most likely continue.

"I don’t think we’re going to change our ongoing efforts to reduce those emissions in the future either, so hopefully people can keep it in perspective," Tillerson told reporters prior to a meeting with Brazil Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira.

US emissions of carbon dioxide — the primary greenhouse gas — were 16.39 metric tons per person in 2013, equal to emissions in 1960, according to the World Bank.

Nevertheless, the United States remains the world's second biggest man-made source carbon dioxide behind China.

Trump cited potential risks to the US economy posed by emission targets, which were accepted by former President Barack Obama in Paris, as the primary reason for pulling out of the accord.