Companies Thoughts About President Trump's (Stupid) Withdrawal From the Paris Accord
President Donald Trump stood up in front of the world yesterday and withdrew the United States from the Paris Accord, a global agreement to combat climate change. The agreement had nearly universal support, but Trump said withdrawing is good for American business. But American business leaders disagree.
CEOs from companies in practically every sector of American life issued statements yesterday denouncing Trump’s decision. Business leaders like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Disney CEO Robert Iger even signaled that this was the last straw, and announced that they’d no longer act as advisors to the president.
Even before Trump’s decision yesterday, the Paris Accord had broad support in the business community. On April 26, 2017 a group of companies wrote an open letter to the president, asking him to stay in the agreement. Companies as diverse as Walmart and DuPont and Intel all signed the letter.
Even energy companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, and Chevron also implored Trump not to drop the Paris Accord in the lead up to yesterday’s announcement from the White House Rose Garden. But he didn’t listen.
Image - Members of the Trump regime clap along like subservient children as President Donald Trump announces America’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord
Below we have a list of the companies that have thus far reacted directly to Trump’s decision. We can only imagine that this list will continue to grow in the coming weeks.
Twenty years from now, we have no idea what the defining moment of Trump’s shameful presidency will be. But with climate change already impacting the world in disastrous ways, his decision to needlessly shun the environment should at least crack the top ten.
But who knows? Trump still has so much time to inflict very real damage on both the United States and the rest of the world—a world that increasingly sees America as a joke that elected a neo-fascist reality TV star as its president.
Apple
Image - Donald Trump, Peter Thiel and Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple during a meeting with technology executives at Trump Tower, December 14, 2016
“We power nearly all of our operations with renewable energy, which we believe is an example of something that’s good for our planet and makes good business sense as well,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
“We will keep working toward the ambitious goals of a closed-loop supply chain, and to eventually stop mining new materials altogether. Of course, we’re going to keep working with our suppliers to help them do more to power their businesses with clean energy. And we will keep challenging ourselves to do even more.”
Box
Image - Co-founder and CEO of Box Aaron Levie speaks on stage on November 10, 2015 in New York City.
“Trump believes everything is a negotiation. But America’s reputation and trust around the world can’t be negotiated, it’s earned. Or lost,” tweeted Box CEO Aaron Levie.
Cargill
Image - CEO of Cargill David MacLennan speaks at the 2016 Concordia Summit on September 20, 2016 in New York City.
“Signing the accord means being a champion for US economic growth and job creation,” Cargill CEO David MacLennan told the Financial Times. “If the US exits international accords like the Paris agreement it will negatively impact trade, economic vitality, the state of our environment and relationships among the world community.”
Dallas Mavericks
Image - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Sorry. It hurts to see this coming from a foreign leader and not our @ Potus. He just trolled our entire country,” tweeted Mark Cuban, referring to a tweet from French president Emmanuel Macron.
Disney
Image - CEO of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger attends the ‘Beauty And The Beast’ New York Screening at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on March 13, 2017 in New York City.
“As a matter of principle, I’ve resigned from the President’s Council over the #ParisAgreement withdrawal,” tweeted Disney CEO Robert Iger.
Facebook
Image -Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the commencement address at the Alumni Exercises at Harvard’s 366th commencement exercises on May 25, 2017
“Withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement is bad for the environment, bad for the economy, and it puts our children’s future at risk,” Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.
“For our part, we’ve committed that every new data center we build will be powered by 100% renewable energy. Stopping climate change is something we can only do as a global community, and we have to act together before it’s too late.”
General Electric
Image - Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric, left, talks with Medal of Honor recipient Major General James Everett Livingston during a question and answer session at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Tuesday, April 23, 2013
“Disappointed with today’s decision on the Paris Agreement. Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government,” tweeted General Electric CEO James Immelt.
Goldman Sachs
Image - Lloyd Blankfein speaks onstage at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2016 at Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel on October 18, 2016 in Dana Point, California.
“Today’s decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.’s leadership position in the world. #ParisAgreement,” tweeted Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Bankfein.
Google
Image - Google CEO Sundar Pichai delivers the keynote address at the Google I/O 2017 Conference at Shoreline Amphitheater on May 17, 2017 in Mountain View, California
“Disappointed with today’s decision. Google will keep working hard for a cleaner, more prosperous future for all,” tweeted Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
IBM
Image - IBM CEO Virginia Marie ‘Ginni’ Rometty (R) during a roundtable discussion on vocational training with United States and German business leaders lead in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 17, 2017 in Washington,
“IBM today is reaffirming its support for the Paris Climate Agreement and stating clearly how we will continue our decades-long work to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Our call for an international agreement on this issue is more than a decade old, and we first voiced our support for the Paris Agreement in 2015 when it was negotiated,” said IBM in a statement.
Intel
Image - Intel CEO Brian Krzanich is interviewed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, March 13, 2017. Intel will buy Israel’s Mobileye in a deal valued at about $15 billion, instantly propelling the computer chip and technology giant to the forefront of autonomous vehicle technology.
“We operate in a global economy, and if we’re not part of the global agreement on climate we are susceptible to retaliation through border taxes and other [measures],” global director of environment and energy policy at Intel, Stephen Harper, told the Financial Times.
Microsoft
Image - Brad Smith addresses shareholders during Microsoft Shareholders Meeting December 3, 2014 in Bellevue, Washington.
“We’re disappointed with the decision to exit the Paris Agreement. Microsoft remains committed to doing our part to achieve its goals,” tweeted Microsoft president Brad Smith.
Nike
Image - Chief Executive Officer of Nike, Inc, Mark Parker speaks during the Nike Innovation For Everybody Unveiling at Skylight at Moynihan Station on March 16, 2016 in New York City.
“We are deeply disappointed by the recent shift in climate policy. Nike believes that climate change is a serious global threat and that the world will need to radically redesign industrial systems and economies in order to enable a low-carbon growth economy,” Nike said in a statement.
“We will continue to honor the core commitments of the American Business Act on Climate Change Pledge, including reaching 100 percent renewable energy in all Nike-owned or -operated facilities around the world by 2025, participating in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge and advancing materials innovation globally.”
Salesforce
Image - Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, speaks at the GLAAD Gala at Metreon on September 8, 2016 in San Francisco, California.
“Deeply disappointed by President’s decision to withdraw from Paris Agreement. We will double our efforts to fight climate change,” tweeted Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.
Tesla
Image - Elon Musk with Donald Trump and Steve Bannon in February 2017
“Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world,” tweeted Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
Twitter
Image - CEO of Twitter and Square Jack Dorsey accepts the award for CEO of the Year onstage during the Thurgood Marshall College Fund 28th Annual Awards Gala at Washington Hilton on November 21, 2016 in Washington, DC.
“This is an incredibly shortsighted move backwards by the federal government. We’re all on this planet together and we need to work together,” tweeted Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
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