Environmental Entrepreneurs, a nonpartisan organization of business leaders, investors and professionals who manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital, fears the effect the decision will have on workers and business, Bob Keefe, executive director, said.
“President Trump is ceding American leadership and sending a message to clean energy investors to look elsewhere for opportunities. It will inflict real financial pain on millions of American workers who earn their paychecks every day in the clean energy and clean transportation sectors,” he said.
“This action ignores strong public support for the agreement voiced by American businesses, big and small, in every state and every industry,” Keefe added. “Going back on America’s promises to the world -- especially when they involve policies that create jobs, increase our competitiveness and make our country a better place to live – isn’t how you make America first.”
Thirty high-profile CEOs signed a letter before the decision was made urging Trump to keep the nation in the agreement, and many expressed their disappointment when the President announced his decision Thursday. A group of governors and big city mayors also have said the decision was harmful.