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Javier Milei’s government is weighing a proposal for Argentina to leave the Paris accord, days after Donald Trump announced the US would pull out of the landmark global climate change accord.

While a final decision has not been made, two people familiar with the discussions said Argentina likely to follow in the footsteps of the US, a move that would make it the second country to withdraw from the agreement signed by nearly 200 countries.

Senior officials reviewed an internal memo recommending an exit, saying people had been briefed on the situation, after the country withdrew negotiators from last year’s COP29 climate summit and said IT reevaluate its international commitments around.

Civil servants are trying to prevent Milei’s team from walking away from the deal, the people said. An Argentine diplomat said that Milei will make the final decision and that “it is very likely that we will leave”.

The withdrawal, if agreed, would mark a major blow to the world’s efforts to address climate change. The agreement aims to limit the rise in global temperatures to below 2C and ideally to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

The environmental division of Argentina’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The libertarian leader, who denies that humans are the cause of climate change, on Thursday condemned the global environmental movement in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Wokeism has distorted the basic idea of ​​preserving the environment for the enjoyment of people, and it has turned into a fanatical environmentalism where people are a cancer that must be eradicated, and economic development is little more than a crime against nature,” he said.

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order to pull the US out of the Paris agreement for the second time, having previously left his first term. No other country left the 2015 agreement.

Exiting the Paris agreement requires the approval of Argentina’s congress, but Milei often bypassed congress through emergency decrees during his presidency.

Last year was the hottest on record, with scientists saying the world is falling short of meeting the temperature goals set by the agreement.

A withdrawal could affect the EU-Mercosur trade agreement concluded in December between Europe and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, which stipulates that the parties can suspend the trade agreement if one of the signatories leave the Paris agreement.

A diplomat said: “The technical staff of the ministry is trying to explain that while Trump can do what he wants, for Argentina it will bring consequences.”

They also cited potential complications for Argentina’s recently launched bid to join the OECD, which promotes environmental policy standards for members.

Critics argue that Argentina also risks losing access to climate-related international finance streams, after receiving billions in such funding, and could be excluded from carbon markets in future world.

Countries must submit new climate plans next month under the Paris accord, although many are expected to miss the deadline.