Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg also took to his own platform to register his objection. He said the decision was “bad for the environment, bad for the economy, and it puts our children at risk.” He said the world’s largest social networking platform has committed to powering all new data centers it builds with 100 percent renewable energy.
Sundar Pichai, Google Inc.’s CEO tweeted that he was disappointed with the decision on the Paris agreement and that the company will “keep working hard for a cleaner, more prosperous future for all.”
EBay Inc. CEO Devin Wenig also vowed to keep his company’s commitment to “doing our part on climate change” in a tweet that also said he was disappointed with the decision on the Paris pact.
Before Trump even made his decision public, oil explorers Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and BP Plc reiterated their support for the global agreement. Their argument: The U.S. is better off with a seat at the table so it can influence global efforts to curb emissions that are largely produced by the fossil fuels they profit from.
Exxon Meeting
Exxon CEO Darren Woods took it a step further during the company’s annual investor meeting in Dallas on Wednesday. He reiterated his commitment to the Paris pact’s goals and methods, and said oil demand will continue to grow in the coming decades, even with the Paris agreement in place.
“Energy needs are a function of population and living standards,” Woods said during his first annual meeting since becoming CEO on Jan. 1. “When it comes to policy, the goal should be to reduce emissions at the lowest cost to society.”
Woods has been a staunch supporter of keeping the U.S. in the Paris group, as was his predecessor Rex Tillerson, who is now Trump’s secretary of state. In his first blog post after becoming CEO, Woods advocated low-emission fuels, carbon capture and biofuels as tools for meeting the goals of the Paris agreement.
Conoco, the world’s largest independent oil producer by market value, also expressed support for the climate agreement on Wednesday. “It gives the U.S. the ability to participate in future climate discussions to safeguard its economic and environmental best interests,” spokesman Daren Beaudo said in an email.
BP CEO Bob Dudley, speaking on Bloomberg Television Thursday, said “We’ve got to transition the world to lower-carbon forms of energy.”