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

cook heroApple 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.

Top Rated Comments

Sunny1990 Avatar
89 months ago
Better focus on "APPLE" and upcoming "WWDC" event Tim!. Give your politics a rest for some time.
Score: 183 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThomasJL Avatar
89 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.
Score: 156 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thadoggfather Avatar
89 months ago
Jesus this dude should resign

We get it Tim you're a proud globalist
Score: 155 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fyun89 Avatar
89 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
Score: 128 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eduardo1971 Avatar
89 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.
Score: 112 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trifid Avatar
89 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.
Score: 108 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...