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Apple CEO Tim Cook: Trump's Decision to Withdraw From Paris Accord 'Was Wrong for Our Planet'

Thursday June 1, 2017 5:57 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple CEO Tim Cook this afternoon sent an email to Apple employees expressing his disappointment with U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate deal.

In the email, which was shared by BuzzFeed, Cook says that while he tried to persuade Trump to keep the United States in the agreement, "it wasn't enough." Cook goes on to reiterate Apple's commitment to reducing its environmental impact through renewable energy and an eventual closed-loop supply chain.
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
Cook, who also shared his disappointment in a tweet, was one of many tech leaders who attempted to persuade Trump not to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement earlier this week, but on Thursday, the president announced that the United States will indeed withdraw from the accord. Since the announcement, tech company CEOs have been speaking out against the decision while pledging to continue to fight climate change.


Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said leaving the accord "puts our children's future at risk," while Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he was disappointed with the decision. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who said yesterday he had done all he could to advise the president to remain in the accord, made good on a promise to leave the advisory councils he served on.


Disney CEO Bob Iger also announced that he's resigned from the President's Council following the decision, while Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the company would double its efforts to fight climate change. Many other major companies, including IBM, GE, Microsoft, and Intel have also spoken out against the move.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: Tim Cook, Donald Trump
[ 916 comments ]


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Sunny1990
30 months ago
Better focus on "APPLE" and upcoming "WWDC" event Tim!. Give your politics a rest for some time.
Rating: 183 Votes
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ThomasJL
30 months ago
I know people say that Tim Cook should stay out of politics. I think Tim Cook should stay in politics. In fact, Cook should stay in politics full-time so that someone else who actually cares about innovation can become the CEO of Apple.
Rating: 156 Votes
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thadoggfather
30 months ago
Jesus this dude should resign

We get it Tim you're a proud globalist
Rating: 155 Votes
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fyun89
30 months ago

Better focus on APPLE and upcoming WWDC event Tim. Give your politics a rest.


Give your opinion on someone else's freedom to participate politics a rest
Rating: 128 Votes
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Eduardo1971
30 months ago

Better focus on "APPLE" and upcoming "WWDC" event Tim. Give your politics a rest for some time.


Such a myopic point of view.

Think about the future of this planet and of all that live in it.

Focusing on the short term will not help anyone out in the long term.
Rating: 112 Votes
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trifid
30 months ago
Give credit where credit is due, despite all the well deserved criticism Apple has gotten in the past few years, I applaud Tim Cook here for the effort at least, thank you.
Rating: 108 Votes
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Autrement
30 months ago

I know people say that Tim Cook should stay out of politics. I think Tim Cook should stay in politics. In fact, Cook should stay in politics full-time so that someone else who actually cares about innovation can become the CEO of Apple.


It's disgraceful that this issue is even considered "politics," that some are so wilfully blind as to think the long term well being of our species and our planet is just another issue that can be debated back and forth and used as a political cudgel, as if the science isn't clear and the dangers aren't real.

It's a true embarrassment that not everyone is behind doing anything and everything we can do, as the richest and most powerful nation in the world. Even more shameful is how Paris was just a tiny first step, and we couldn't even make that.
Rating: 101 Votes
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Works4Me
30 months ago
While I may not disagree with Cook's take on the Paris Accord, I do think he's being hypocritical by making computers that get harder and harder to repair and are impossible to upgrade (and thus extend their useful life), but criticizing others for not being green. And yes, I know about all of Apple's green initiatives....
Rating: 99 Votes
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Lancetx
30 months ago
Why don't Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Bob Iger just bankroll the entire thing themselves then....
Rating: 98 Votes
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horsebattery
30 months ago

Great move by Trump. Now lets go after those epa nazis and their ridiculous demands for our automakers.

Rating: 96 Votes

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