Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed his disappointment with President Donald Trump over his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate accord.
Cook, along with other business leaders including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Exxon chief Darren Woods, issued a last-minute plea to persuade Trump to remain in the climate change agreement.
In a letter to Apple (AAPL) employees in the wake of Trump’s announcement Thursday, Cook said, “Climate change is real and we all share a responsibility to fight it,” according to Bloomberg.
“I want to reassure you that today’s developments will have no impact on Apple’s efforts to protect the environment,” he continued. “We’re going to keep working with our suppliers to help them do more to power their businesses with clean energy.”
Cook’s words echoed other industry leaders who have spoken out in opposition to the President’s decision to leave the agreement, which aims to limit the average global temperature increase to below 2C (3.6F). Musk and Disney CEO Bob Iger both resigned from their respective roles on Trump’s advisory council in protest.
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
The Apple boss took to Twitter late Thursday, saying the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement “was wrong for our planet” and that Apple would “never waiver” from the fight against climate change. Cook, who said he phoned Trump on Tuesday asking him to stick with the deal, said his appeal “wasn’t enough,” according to CNN.
Apple has been one of the computing sector’s leaders in sustainability and renewable energy, earning an overall A grade from environmental watchdog group Greenpeace in its energy report earlier this year.
