Donald Trump talked a lot about jobs, the economy, and growth Thursday afternoon when he announced America would be leaving the Paris Climate Agreement. He kept defending his decision as a boon for the American worker, but the CEOs and leaders of many big American companies, like Facebook, Google, and Nike, had different thoughts.
Again and again CEOs said they were "disappointed" by Trump's decision. Some, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, left the president's business council over this.
Early in his speech about why the U.S. was pulling out of the landmark deal, Trump said that the agreement, reached in 2015 under the Obama administration, "disadvantages" the country. He went on to say that the deal left "American workers, who I love, and taxpayers to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories and vastly diminished economic production."
Statements quickly came out from companies saying they supported the climate deal and are working to impede the effects of climate change and use more renewable energy in their businesses.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke about stopping climate change and reaching 100 percent renewable energy at data centers.
Here's HP's statement:
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Notably Trump didn't even use the phrase "climate change" during his speech. General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt clearly stated, "Climate change is real."
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Tech company leaders like Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft president Brad Smith reiterated their "disappointment" and vowed to pursue the goals laid out in the Paris agreement -- even if Trump doesn't see the environmental benefits.
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Shoe company Nike got into specifics and laid out their goals to reach 100 percent renewable energy at Nike facilities worldwide by 2025.
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Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein put out his first tweet ever just to blast Trump on pulling out of the deal.
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Based on these reactions doesn't sound like CEOs are too worried about "diminished economic production" -- or what U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement is "disproportionate burdens on the U.S. economy compared to other nations."
Sigh.
