Major Companies Sign Full-Page Ad Urging President to Stay in the Paris Agreement

Press Release
May 8, 2017
At C2ES, contact Laura Rehrmann, rehrmannl@c2es.org, 703-774-5480
At Ceres, contact Sara Sciammacco, sciammacco@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 ext. 172

Major companies sign full-page ad urging president to stay in the Paris Agreement

Outline Business Case for Climate Action
Ads in NY Times, Wall St. Journal and NY Post

WASHINGTON – In a letter appearing this week in full-page newspaper ads, major companies are urging President Trump to keep the United States in the Paris Agreement on climate change for the good of the U.S. economy.

“By expanding markets for innovative clean technologies, the agreement generates jobs and economic growth,” the letter says. “U.S. companies are well positioned to lead in these markets. Withdrawing from the agreement will limit our access to them and could expose us to retaliatory measures.”

Companies signing the letter include: Adobe; Apple; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; Danfoss; Dignity Health, Facebook; Gap, Inc.; Google; The Hartford; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Ingersoll Rand; Intel Corporation; Johnson Controls; Levi Strauss & Co.; Mars Incorporated; Microsoft; Morgan Stanley; National Grid; PG&E Corporation; Royal DSM; Salesforce; Schneider Electric; Tiffany & Co.; Unilever; and VF Corporation.

These 25 companies are among the top U.S. tech, power, retail, health, consumer goods, manufacturing, and financial services companies, with a combined market capitalization of over $3.2 trillion.

The full-page ad in The New York Times on Monday is part of a six-figure ad campaign in the Times, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Post. The campaign is sponsored by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) in cooperation with the sustainability nonprofit Ceres.

The Paris Agreement has been ratified by 143 countries, including the United States. The White House has said a decision on whether to stay in the agreement is due before the president attends the G7 Summit in Italy later this month.

The companies say the Paris Agreement strengthens competitiveness by ensuring a more balanced global climate effort, and will reduce future climate impacts, including damage to business facilities and operations, declining agricultural productivity and water supplies, and disruption of global supply chains.

“As other countries invest in advanced technologies and move forward with the Paris Agreement, we believe the United States can best exercise global leadership and advance U.S. interests by remaining a full partner in this vital global effort,” the letter says.

In another push by the business community to keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement, more than 215 global investors, collectively managing more than $15 trillion in assets, sent a letter today to President Trump and other G20 leaders urging them to support and swiftly implement the climate accord.

The ad is posted here.

The full text is below.

Additional Resources:

About C2ES: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to forge practical solutions to climate change. Our mission is to advance strong policy and action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote clean energy, and strengthen resilience to climate impacts. We work with Fortune 500 companies to strengthen business action and business support for effective climate policy. Learn more at www.c2es.org or follow on Twitter @C2ES_org.

About Ceres: Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization leading the most influential investors and companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy. For more information, visit www.ceres.org or follow on Twitter @CeresNews.

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Dear President Trump,

As some of the largest companies based?or operating in the United States, we strongly urge you to keep the United States in the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Climate change presents both business risks and business opportunities. Continued U.S. participation in the agreement benefits U.S. businesses and the U.S. economy in many ways:

  • Strengthening Competitiveness: By requiring action by developed and developing countries alike, the agreement ensures a more balanced global effort, reducing the risk of competitive imbalances for U.S. companies.
  • Creating Jobs, Markets and Growth: By expanding markets for innovative clean technologies,?the agreement generates jobs and economic growth. U.S. companies are well positioned to lead in these markets. Withdrawing from the agreement will limit our access to them and could expose us to retaliatory measures.
  • Reducing Business Risks: By strengthening global action over time, the agreement will reduce future climate impacts, including damage to business facilities and operations, declining agricultural productivity and water supplies, and disruption of global supply chains.

As businesses concerned with the well-being of our customers, our investors, our communities, and our suppliers, we are strengthening our climate resilience, and we are investing in innovative technologies that can help achieve a clean energy transition. For this transition to succeed, however, governments must lead as well.

U.S. business is best served by a stable and practical framework facilitating an effective and balanced global response. The Paris Agreement provides such a framework. As other countries invest in advanced technologies and move forward with the Paris Agreement, we believe the United States can best exercise global leadership and advance U.S. interests by remaining a full partner in this vital global effort.

Sincerely,

Adobe; Apple; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; Danfoss; Dignity Health, Facebook; Gap, Inc.; Google; The Hartford; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Ingersoll Rand; Intel Corporation; Johnson Controls; Levi Strauss & Co.; Mars Incorporated; Microsoft; Morgan Stanley; National Grid; PG&E Corporation; Royal DSM; Salesforce; Schneider Electric; Tiffany & Co.; Unilever; and VF Corporation.

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