President
Donald Trump
's decision on Thursday to abrogate a worldwide
agreement to curb carbon emissions was met with widespread condemnation by big
businesses.
Fulfilling a campaign
promise, Trump announced his decision to exit the Paris Agreement —signed by
more than 190 countries a year ago — 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 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 leave
those roles. Separately, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein — whose firm has
served as a breeding ground for key Trump administration allies like Gary Cohn
and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin —
blasted the
president's move as a "setback"
for climate change efforts.
"We are deeply
disappointed by the recent shift in climate policy," sneaker giant Nike
said in a statement. "Climate 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."
Energy giant
Shell
— one
of several oil behemoths that have in recent years adopted environmentally
friendly policies — voiced support for the agreement, even as it pledged to
continue working with the Trump administration on energy policy.
"Shell recognizes that
climate change is a challenge that belongs to all of society
— not one individual or one country," a company statement said. "For
our part, we will continue to take internal actions and convene important
conversations that acknowledge our role in providing more and cleaner
energy."
In an interview with
Bloomberg Television on Thursday
, Bob Dudley, CEO of
BP
, said that businesses and
policymakers had to "transition the world to lower-carbon forms of energy."
In the wake of the decision
to leave the Paris accord, "we need to be really clear — rather than just
walking away from it — what you put in place in the United States," Dudley
told the network from St. Petersburg, Russia.
The American Petroleum Institute
refused to take a position on the Paris Agreement. However, the industry
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.
"We 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," spokesman Michael
Tadeo told CNBC.
"The 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,
benefited American workers and improved the environment," Tadeo added.
'Disappointed'
IBM
, also broadly supportive of efforts
to curb carbon emissions, called climate change "a serious concern"
that affects the entire world.
"Therefore IBM
supported — and still supports — 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," the tech company
said in a statement. "IBM believes that it is easier to lead outcomes by
being at the table, as a participant in the agreement, rather than from outside
it."
Brad Smith,
Microsoft's
president and top legal officer, said the software giant was
"disappointed" in the president's decision.
Box CEO Aaron Levie took aim at Trump's belief that "everything is a
negotiation. But America's reputation and trust around the world can't be
negotiated, it's earned. Or lost," 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.
"Simply 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," Obama said.
(www.cnbc.com)