President Donald Trump’s decision on Thursday to abrogate a worldwide agreement to curb carbon emissions was met with disapproval from big businesses.<\/b>
\nPresident Donald Trump ‘s decision on Thursday to abrogate a worldwide agreement to curb carbon emissions was met with disapproval from big businesses, many of which supported the landmark accord.
Fulfilling a campaign promise, Trump announced his decision to exit the Paris Agreement \u2014signed by more than 190 countries a year ago \u2014 citing the deal’s effects on American jobs and the economy. As his political supporters applauded his decision, the president stated his intent to negotiate a new pact more favorable to the U. S.
Yet, in a twist of irony, the response to his decision from large corporations, some in sectors ostensibly friendly to Trump’s policy agenda, backed the Paris Agreement and the objective of environmental conservation.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who served on presidential advisory councils, immediately made good on a promise to vacate those roles. Separately, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein \u2014 whose firm has served as a breeding ground for key Trump administration allies like Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin \u2014 blasted the president’s move as a \u00ab\u00a0setback\u00a0\u00bb for climate change efforts.
\u00ab\u00a0We are deeply disappointed by the recent shift in climate policy, \u00a0\u00bb said sneaker giant Nike in a statement. The company added that \u00ab\u00a0climate change is a serious global threat and… the world will need to radically redesign industrial systems and economies in order to enable a low-carbon growth economy.\u00a0\u00bb
Energy giant Shell \u2014 one of several oil behemoths that have in recent years adopted environmentally friendly policies \u2014 voiced support for the agreement, even as it pledged to continue working with the Trump administration on energy policy.
\u00ab\u00a0Shell recognizes that climate change is a challenge that belongs to all of society \u2014 not one individual or one country, \u00a0\u00bb the company said in a statement. \u00ab\u00a0For our part, we will continue to take internal actions and convene important conversations that acknowledge our role in providing more and cleaner energy.\u00a0\u00bb
In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday, Bob Dudley, CEO of BP, said that businesses and policymakers had to \u00ab\u00a0transition the world to lower-carbon forms of energy.\u00a0\u00bb
In the wake of the decision to leave the Paris Accord, \u00ab\u00a0we need to be really clear \u2014 rather than just walking away from it \u2014 what you put in place in the United States, \u00a0\u00bb Dudley told the network from St. Petersburg, Russia.
Oil and gas industry association American Petroleum Institute refused to take a position on the Paris Accord. However, the organization pointed to the shale revolution that has vaulted the U. S. into the upper ranks of the world’s largest oil producers within a few short years.
\u00ab\u00a0W e have always said that Paris was a missed opportunity to talk about how the United States is leading the world in the production and refining of oil and natural gas, and leading the world in reducing carbon emissions, \u00a0\u00bb Michael Tadeo, a spokesman for the API, told CNBC.
\u00ab\u00a0The United States is now near 30-year lows in carbon emissions from electricity generation. Instead of government mandates that could increase energy costs, the world should embrace our nation’s energy renaissance that has lowered costs for consumers, benefitted American workers and improved the environment, \u00a0\u00bb Tadeo added.
IBM, also broadly supportive of efforts to curb carbon emissions, called climate change \u00ab\u00a0a serious concern\u00a0\u00bb that affects the entire world.
\u00a0\u00bb Therefore IBM supported \u2014 and still supports \u2014 U. S. participation in the Paris Agreement. This agreement requires all participating countries to put forward their best efforts on climate change as determined by each country, \u00a0\u00bb Big Blue said in a statement. \u00ab\u00a0IBM believes that it is easier to lead outcomes by being at the table, as a participant in the agreement, rather than from outside it.\u00a0\u00bb
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and top legal officer, said the software giant was \u00ab\u00a0disappointed\u00a0\u00bb in the president’s decision.
Box CEO Aaron Levie took aim at Trump’s belief that \u00ab\u00a0everything is a negotiation. But America’s reputation and trust around the world can’t be negotiated, it’s earned. Or lost, \u00a0\u00bb he posted on Twitter.
In a statement, former President Barack Obama suggested Trump’s decision could hurt American innovation, even as he said the march toward a low-carbon future by businesses was well underway.
\u00ab\u00a0Simply put, the private sector already chose a low-carbon future. And for the nations that committed themselves to that future, the Paris Agreement opened the floodgates for businesses, scientists, and engineers to unleash high-tech, low-carbon investment and innovation on an unprecedented scale, \u00a0\u00bb Obama said.<\/p>\n

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