28 major US companies that don't want Trump to abandon the Paris agreement
In 2015, every country in the world except two signed the Paris agreement in a joint effort to combat the rising threat of global warming. Under former President Barack Obama, the US agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% for 2025.
Gap, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Mars, Adobe, and Apple are just some of the major companies that signed a letter to Trump asking him to keep the status quo. Over the last month, the letter appeared as full-page ads in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post.
"By strengthening global action over time, the agreement will reduce future climate impacts, including damage to business facilities and operations, declining agricultural productivity and water supplies, and disruption of global supply chains," the letter states. It also argues that investing in various clean energy initiatives will generate jobs.
"A lot of US businesses are concerned about the potential trade ramifications of a US withdrawal," Elliot Diringer, executive vice president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, the organization that sponsored the full-page ads, told Business Insider. "They think it's important that the US remain in Paris to ensure them access to the growing clean energy markets around the world, and they see that a US withdrawal could hurt their access to those markets."
While Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips did not participate in the ad campaign, leaders of both major oil producers have frequently said they oppose Trump's plan to withdraw from Paris, arguing that it would leave the US out of negotiations on the state of fossil fuels.
During his time as CEO of Exxon Mobil, Trump's now Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the company supported the agreement.
"At Exxon Mobil, we share the view that the risks of climate change are serious and warrant thoughtful action," Tillerson said at a speech in 2016. "Addressing these risks requires broad-based, practical solutions around the world."
In May, Tillerson signed a declaration with other Arctic nations agreeing that "the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the global average, resulting in widespread social, environmental, and economic impacts in the Arctic and worldwide." He, along with Trump's economic adviser and former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn, have both encouraged Trump to stay in the accord.
Here is a list of companies that have urged Trump not to abandon the Paris agreement:
- Microsoft
- The Gap
- Exxon Mobil
- ConocoPhillips
- National Grid
- Apple
- Adobe
- Danfoss
- Levi Strauss & Co.
- Mars Incorporated
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
- Morgan Stanley
- Unilever
- Tiffany & Co
- Dignity Health
- Ingersoll Rand
- Intel Corporation
- PG&E Corporation
- Johnson Controls
- Royal DSM
- The Hartford
- Royal DSM
- Salesforce
- Schneider Electric
- VF Corporation
Rebecca Harrington contributed reporting.