Business leaders reacted strongly to President Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement —and they were not happy.
The move fulfills a major campaign promise for Trump but also threatens relationships with other countries around the world and dampens international efforts to fight climate change.
The 2015 accord aims to limit the average global temperature increase to below 2C (3.6F) and permits all 195 countries involved to create their own goals for addressing rising temperatures. While the deal is not necessarily doomed without U.S. involvement, the withdrawal may encourage other countries to weaken their commitments.
And it’s not just environmentalists who are concerned. Experts say pulling out of the deal could harm American businesses, and CEOs had been asking Trump to stick with the deal since the President announced he was close to making his final decision. Even oil giants such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips were among the companies that expressed support for the accord ahead of Trump’s announcement.
After Trump’s announcement in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, Elon Musk followed through on his threat to withdraw from President Trump’s advisory councils, saying “climate change is real” — a sentiment shared by many other CEOs and businesses on social media.
Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2017
Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted that the president’s decision was “wrong for our planet” and wrote a letter to his employees assuring them Apple will continue its “efforts to protect the environment.”
Decision to withdraw from the #ParisAgreeement was wrong for our planet. Apple is committed to fight climate change and we will never waver.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 2, 2017
Microsoft President Brad Smith said his company was “disappointed” with the decision.
We’re disappointed with the decision to exit the Paris Agreement. Microsoft remains committed to doing our part to achieve its goals.
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) June 1, 2017
Billionaire investor and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had some advice for Democrats in the wake of Trump’s decision: call his bluff.
https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/870368404422750208
Jeff Immelt, the CEO of General Electric said businesses can’t depend on the government when it comes to climate change.
Disappointed with today’s decision on the Paris Agreement. Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government.
— Jeff Immelt (@JeffImmelt) June 1, 2017
Former Vice President and climate champion Al Gore joined in.
My statement on Today’s Decision by the Trump Administration to Withdraw from the Paris Agreement: https://t.co/eDEFv5b1nSpic.twitter.com/SzHJU3D0Mr
— Al Gore (@algore) June 1, 2017
IBM released a statement that it will continue to “reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions and will continue to help our clients do so as well.”
Read @IBM's statement on the administration's decision to withdraw from the #ParisAgreement: https://t.co/Vuo48uw2oBpic.twitter.com/XCmCsXJqE1
— IBMPolicy (@IBMpolicy) June 1, 2017
Salesforce took a similar stance.
Salesforce Statement on U.S. Withdrawal from Paris Agreement: https://t.co/SeBTRteXDCpic.twitter.com/77reuijN2B
— Salesforce (@salesforce) June 1, 2017
HP, Intel and Amazon all released statements emphasizing that they believe climate change is a real issue and they support the Paris agreement.
Here's a statement from HP on Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement pic.twitter.com/E71uR2ylX8
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) June 1, 2017
Here's a statement from Intel on Trump pulling out of the Paris Accord: pic.twitter.com/9xVfvCNQ4J
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) June 1, 2017
Here's Amazon's reaction to Trump pulling out of Paris Accords: pic.twitter.com/Mw2pwV49EF
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) June 1, 2017
CEO of Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein took to Twitter, calling Trump’s decision a “setback.” Notably, the CEO used his very first tweet on the platform on the Paris Agreement exit. Fortune has verified that it is the official account of the CEO.
Today's decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.'s leadership position in the world. #ParisAgreement
— Lloyd Blankfein (@lloydblankfein) June 1, 2017
The CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, put in his two cents, writing:
Disappointed with today’s decision. Google will keep working hard for a cleaner, more prosperous future for all.
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) June 1, 2017
Oil giant Shell also weighed in, saying they would “continue to do our part.”
Our support for the #ParisAgreement is well known. We will continue to do our part providing more & cleaner energy. https://t.co/j5i0EQDzFi
— Shell USA (@Shell_USA) June 1, 2017
Meanwhile, Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, called the exit a “sad day” on Bloomberg.
CalPERS, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which voted in favor of the climate change proposal at Exxon’s shareholder’s meeting Wednesday, also released a statement.
“We will continue to support the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Paris Agreement enables us to manage material risk and build opportunity in our investment portfolio,” CEO Marcie Frost said in a statement.
CalPERS Comments on Paris Agreement Decision, https://t.co/KNZvniqMEj#ClimateChange#COP21#Sustainabilitypic.twitter.com/kN4bIQEzUD
— CalPERS (@CalPERS) June 1, 2017
Utility company National Grid also released a statement, writing:
“A clean energy transition is good for our customers and the economy, and the right thing to do. That’s why National Grid remains committed to addressing climate change head on and will continue to support our customers and communities to reduce harmful emissions and better prepare our economy for the future. In recent weeks, we have joined several of the largest US companies to urge President Trump to keep the United States in the Paris Agreement on climate change.”
Separately, the president of labor union federation AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, added that an exit from the Paris Agreement would be “a failure of American leadership.”
Paris Climate Agreement Withdrawal a Failure of American Leadership #parisclimateagreementpic.twitter.com/Ng1mok0Vp1
— Richard Trumka (@RichardTrumka) June 1, 2017
It’s unclear how the American exit will affect the deal as a whole. The country however cannot officially announce an exit to the U.N. until November 2019, according to Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Until then, it will still be part of the agreement.
