02 June, 2017
Miguel Arias Canete, the European Union's top climate change official, called Trump's decision "a sad day for the global community". Earlier on Thursday, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk quit two of the president's business advisory councils after Trump announced his decision.
Trump could have instead pledged to withdraw from the underlying 1992 United Nations climate treaty, signed by President George H.W. Bush and ratified by the U.S. Senate.
The Paris Agreement is highly costly and would do close to nothing to address climate change. Customers in other countries might also seek to boycott US products in retaliation for Trump leaving Paris. Apple did not comment on whether Cook would continue working with this group.
That message was later seen by the mayor of Paris, who wrote that Paris and Pittsburgh "stand together" in the Paris agreement.
The Information Technology Industry Council was equally scathing. "The United States's abdication of global leadership will diminish confidence in the pact and discourage other nations from staying the course, while also making it more hard for the United States to forge robust alliances with other nations on other issues of joint concern".
The mayor gained attention as he tweeted nearly immediately after his city was mentioned by the President to say Pittsburgh stands with the world and he'll follow the guidelines of the Paris agreement "for our people, our economy & future".
Oil supermajors ExxonMobil and Chevron reiterated their support for the endangered agreement, while automaker General Motors said the White House's decision would not lessen its resolve on the climate. Canada is unwavering in our commitment to fight climate change and support clean economic growth. Now the 194 remaining countries in the agreement are going to have to figure out a way forward without the US.
The accord aligns with the company's own policy on carbon emissions, she said.
Is Trump right that India and China got off easy?
But within minutes of Trump's speech, the leaders of France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement saying the Paris climate agreement was "irreversible" and could not be renegotiated.
The Union States now joins the short list of countries including Syria and Nicaragua that are not a part of the global pact signed by 195 countries in 2015 and came into effect last November, the month Trump won the election.
We suggest subjecting the Paris withdrawal to the "additionality" principle: that is, identify the additional impact of Paris withdrawal on climate policy over and above the existing policy trajectory.
"America should choose a path for an energy future that is achievable, affordable and most importantly meaningful", the organization said in a statement.
Matt Sonnesyn, vice president of the Business Roundtable, which includes the heads of major United States corporations, said the private sector was part of the solution to climate change.
"It is also a grave disappointment for millions of people living in those areas of the United States that are threatened by the effects of climate change, whether it is the flooding that threatens cities like NY and Miami, or the periods of drought and deluge that have plagued California and other states, or the temperature rise that is affecting cities, wildlife and natural areas across the United States", he said in a statement.
On Wednesday, a group of major United States companies including Apple, Facebook, Gap, Google and Unilever signed off on a plea for the United States to keep participating in the climate deal.
