Heureka Conference

Buy Heureka Conference 2019 Tickets

€99 EXCL. VAT

Startup Tickets

  • Lazy Bird - €125,00
  • Standard - €149,00
Buy Now
€299 EXCL. VAT

Service Tickets

  • Lazy Bird - €375,00
  • Standard - €449,00
Buy Now
€40 EXCL. VAT

Student Tickets

  • Lazy Bird - €55,00
  • Standard - €75,00
Buy Now

Tech giants react to Trump's decision to withdraw from Paris climate agreement Written by Business Insider on 2. June 2017

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the United States is pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, which was signed by 195 nations in December 2015.
The Paris agreement was intended to slow climate change by setting limits on carbon emissions and has been widely embraced by the business community.
The tech industry in particular has supported the Paris agreement, and many of the big tech companies are currently transitioning their giant, energy-guzzling data centers to using completely renewable energy.
After Trump announced his decision on Thursday afternoon, the pushback from the tech industry was swift. Some executives were more measured than others in expressing their dismay, but the tech industry’s biggest voices all made it clear that they viewed Trump’s move as a grave mistake.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai


A Google representative also said that Google is on track to use 100% renewable energy for its global operations this year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook
Team,
I know many of you share my disappointment with the White House’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. I spoke with President Trump on Tuesday and tried to persuade him to keep the U.S. in the agreement. But it wasn’t enough.
Climate change is real and we all share a responsibility to fight it. I want to reassure you that today’s developments will have no impact on Apple’s efforts to protect the environment. We power nearly all of our operations with renewable energy, which we believe is an example of something that’s good for our planet and makes good business sense as well.
We will keep working toward the ambitious goals of a closed-loop supply chain, and to eventually stop mining new materials altogether. Of course, we’re going to keep working with our suppliers to help them do more to power their businesses with clean energy. And we will keep challenging ourselves to do even more. Knowing the good work that we and countless others around the world are doing, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about our planet’s future.
Our mission has always been to leave the world better than we found it. We will never waver, because we know that future generations depend on us.
Your work is as important today as it has ever been. Thank you for your commitment to making a difference every single day.
Tim
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey
Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff

Microsoft President Brad Smith


In a statement published on LinkedIn, Smith wrote:
Today, the White House announced its intent to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Over 190 countries, from China to India to the EU, have signed the agreement and committed to taking actions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Microsoft believes that climate change is an urgent issue that demands global action. We have a longstanding commitment to sustainability, which includes operating 100 percent carbon neutral and setting goals to increase the amount of green energy to power our operations.
We all live on a small planet and every nation needs to work with others to protect it. We’ve been a steadfast supporter of the Paris Agreement, from encouraging nations to come to an agreement in 2015 to urging the U.S. to ratify the agreement in 2016.
In the past few months, Microsoft has actively engaged the Trump Administration on the business case for remaining in the Paris Agreement. We’ve sent letters to and held meeting on this topic with senior officials in the State Department and the White House. And in the past month, we’ve joined with other American business leaders to take out full-page ads in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and New York Post, urging the Administration to keep the United States in the Paris Agreement.
We believe that continued U.S. participation benefits U.S. businesses and the economy in important and multiple ways. A global framework strengthens competitiveness for American businesses. It creates new markets for innovative clean technologies, from green power to smart grids to cloud-enabled solutions. And by strengthening global action over time, the Agreement reduces future climate damage to people and organizations around the world.
We are disappointed with today’s decision by the White House to withdraw the United States from the landmark, globally supported Paris Agreement on climate change.
We remain steadfastly committed to the sustainability, carbon and energy goals that we have set as a company and to the Paris Agreement’s ultimate success. Our experience shows us that these investments and innovations are good for our planet, our company, our customers and the economy.

Box CEO Aaron Levie

Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Uber Head of Transportation Policy and Research Andrew Salzberg

“Today’s announcement from President Trump that the United States will not honor the agreement is a huge disappointment. Addressing rising temperatures is vital to ensuring the continued health and prosperity of populations across the globe.”
“Uber will continue to do our part and we implore the President of the United States to not work against us, but rather join us. Let’s drive change.”

Amazon

An Amazon representative provided Business Insider with this statement:
“Amazon continues to support the Paris climate agreement and action on climate change. We believe that robust clean energy and climate policies can support American competitiveness, innovation, and job growth. We remain committed to putting our scale and inventive culture to work in ways that are good for the environment and our customers. For more information on our commitment to sustainability, visit our website.”

This article was first published on Business Insider.

More from Business Insider:

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Visualhunt / CC BY-SA