Trump climate move backfires

US big business protest decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord

DENVER - The decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Accord has caused a firestorm at home and led to a big companies' revolt.

Analysts are agreed that the move will hit the US economy and affect the country's international relationships.

"It goes against smart, profitable economics, smart international policy, against American global leadership, and against ethical and moral stewardship of our planet," said David Richardson, a political insider and attorney who worked on Washington's Capitol Hill in the 1980s.

The withdrawal from the world's pre-eminent climate control agreement - signed in Paris in 2015 - met with widespread and growing disdain from US businesses.

"Leaving the Paris Accord has no benefit other than pandering to the conservative movement's ideological opposition to multilateralism and environmental regulation," wrote Ben Adler in a Washington Post article.

Trump narrowly won the 2016 presidential election with a pro-business "Make America Strong" theme.

But when he ignored even conservative, pro-fossil fuel burning oil giants ExxonMobil Corp and ConocoPhillips Co, who supported the Paris Accord, he walked into a minefield, political pundits stressed.

Since his announcement to withdraw last week, a number of famous businesses in the US steered clear from offering support.

"I disagree with the decision to exit the Paris Accord," Kevin Plank, chief executive officer of Under Armour Inc, a footwear and sportswear manufacturer, wrote in the Baltimore Sun last week.

"Sustainability has always been part of our DNA: it's integral to how we live and work and is essential to our environment."

Ironically, Plank praised Trump's pro-business approach in February, words that were criticized by other business leaders.

Last Thursday, it was Elon Musk, of Tesla Inc, and Bob Iger, the chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Co, who stepped down from Trump's business advisory councils to protest the decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal.

"Protecting our planet and driving economic growth are critical to our future, and they aren't mutually exclusive," Iger said on Twitter.

"I deeply disagree with the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement," he added.

Musk, 45, whose net worth is $15.2 billion, has founded and co-founded companies such as SpaceX, Tesla, OpenAI, Neuralink and SolarCity.

"Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for the United States or the world," said Musk, in an announcement that he would leave Trump's council.

Trump created the business advisory group last December before taking office.

It last met in February, and includes American business heavyweights such as Blackstone Group, PepsiCo, JPMorgan and Chase & Co.

Several members of this 17-member council stepped down or resigned due to Trump's policies, but since the Paris announcement they are leaving in droves.

In addition, Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, Andrew Liveris, of Dow Chemical Co, and Travis Kalanick, of Uber Technologies Inc, jumped ship in the past few days.

Other business giants such as Salesforce.com, Microsoft, Google, and Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook, used social media to express their disappointment.

Even those who decided to continue to serve on Trump's council, such as Larry Fink, chief executive officer of BlackRock Inc, also expressed different opinions.

In a statement, Fink said that he disagreed with the decision to leave the Paris Agreement calling it "a critical step forward in addressing climate change".

Fink's company is the world's largest asset manager with $5.4 trillion under management.

"I am a strong believer that our industry needs to have a voice with governments around the world," he said.

Auto giant General Motors Co also announced it would stay on Trump's forum, but Ford Motor Co said in a statement that "climate change is real".

"We remain deeply committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our vehicles and our facilities," Ford said in a statement.

Xinhua

Protestors gather near the White House after US President Donald Trump's announcement to withdraw from the Paris Accord. Xinhua