Tech firms pushed Trump to not withdraw from Paris agreement

[Pelle Svanslös]

Following reports that President Trump is expected to withdraw the U.S.
from the Paris climate agreement, major technology firms moved swiftly
on Thursday to urge the president to reconsider.

On Thursday morning, major firms including Adobe, Apple, Facebook,
Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft and Salesforce paid
for a full-page ad in both The New York Times and The Wall Street
Journal urging Trump to keep the U.S. in the Paris climate agreement.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were among the business
leaders to personally call the White House in a last-ditch effort to
keep the U.S. in the agreement, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Musk took to Twitter to warn that if Trump elects to drop the U.S. from
the climate deal, he will step down from his positions on White House
advisory councils. Musk has earned significant criticism for his
decision to stay on the councils in the past but has argued that it’s
“important” to have a role in shaping discourse at the White House.

Dean Garfield, the president and CEO of the D.C. trade association
Information Technology Industry Council, called the Paris agreement a
"critical component" and a "responsibility." The council represents
major tech firms like Twitter, Samsung and Dell.

“The perception that we have to decide between creating jobs or tackling
climate change is a false choice,” said Garfield.

During a segment of CNBC’s "Squawk Box" on Thursday morning, CEO of HP
Enterprise Meg Whitman also pleaded with the president.

“Please do not withdraw from the Paris climate accord. This is not in
the best interest of Americans,” Whitman said. “We need to own the next
generation of jobs, whether that’s clean energy or 3-D printing or
immunotherapy. This is an arena that America should lead and must lead.”

http://thehill.com/policy/technology/335918-tech-firms-push-trump-to-not-withdraw-from-paris-climate-agreement