The Trump administration was deciding whether to begin the three-year withdrawal process stipulated by the Paris Agreement or ditch the underlying United Nations treaty which would speed up the process.
As president, Mr Trump can withdraw from Paris on his own authority. The reason it was called an 'agreement' was to enable Barack Obama to use the president's executive power to ratify it without having to seek the permission of the Republican-control Congress, which must ratify any international 'treaties'.
If the report is correct, it will mean Mr Trump has ignored the advice of a string of senior advisers, including his own daughter Ivanka Trump, Defence Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who all advocated keeping 'a seat at the table'.
It could be a sign that he plans to ditch environmental regulations and attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a much greater degree than he has so far.
The report of the apparent decision comes hours after the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the US to remain within the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible.
So far the world's average temperature has risen by just under one degree because of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity.
Germany, France and other leading nations have expressed frustration with Mr Trump's stance on climate change.
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