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Joining an overwhelming chorus that includes most Americans, several major businesses in the U.S. and much of the global community, several investors have come out swinging against President Trump\u2019s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always believed that, while we can disagree on the scientific premise behind climate change, we should all agree that advanced energy technologies represent one of the biggest economic opportunities,\u201d said General Catalyst managing director Hemant Taneja. \u201cTo give that up is a threat to American prosperity\u2026 Our American companies will be at a huge competitive disadvantage globally if they don\u2019t have a market to rely on in their backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentiment from Taneja, whose firm manages more than $3 billion, was echoed by other investors across Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord is just the latest in an unrelenting series of disastrous policies. Though at this point, the entrepreneurs who I know have shaken off the sense of despair that hung on them in the first months after the election, and are in final-level-boss fight mode,\u201d said Steve Vassallo, a general partner with Foundation Capital (an investment firm with $2.4 billion under management). \u201cWithdrawing\u00a0the U.S. from the Paris agreement is only going to galvanize cleantech entrepreneurs to work three times as hard to address the dangers of climate change and this presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n
A survey from last November by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs indicated that 71 percent of Americans supported the treaty<\/a>, which created targets for curbing carbon emissions in an effort to reduce their effect on the world\u2019s climate.<\/p>\n \u201cClimate change is real.\u00a0 Burying one\u2019s head in the sand doesn\u2019t change the science,\u201d said Ira Ehrenpreis, a managing partner and co-founder of the Double Bottom Line Venture Partners. \u201cIronically, this foolish decision is galvanizing a movement from the rest of world and a grassroots groundswell of people who recognize the importance and urgency to act now. \u00a0It is truly tragic that the U.S. has abandoned its leadership and moral authority on one of the critical issues of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the last few days major corporations from almost every industry have made a concerted effort<\/a> to convince the president to remain in the treaty.<\/p>\n Salesforce\u2019s Marc Benioff even tweeted an (almost literal) midnight appeal to send a signal to President Trump.<\/p>\n Dear President Trump, as some of the largest companies in the US, we strongly urge you to keep the US in the Paris Agreement. pic.twitter.com\/ztSXyYtRrm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Marc Benioff (@Benioff) June 1, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Speaking yesterday from Recode\u2019s conference in California, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (and President Trump\u2019s former adversary for the presidency) said that a decision to leave the agreement would hurt U.S. businesses<\/a>.<\/p>\n Not all investors took a position on the decision. GV (the former Google Ventures) declined to comment on the president\u2019s decision and the National Venture Capital Association said that the organization had no position on the president\u2019s action.<\/p>\n Apparently undeterred by the will of the majority of Americans or the wishes of big business (and his own secretary of state<\/a>), the president is announcing that he will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord,\u201d the president said from a podium at the Rose Garden of the White House.<\/p>\n The next step for the president and his cabinet is to \u201cbegin negotiations that will allow America to re-enter\u201d the Paris Accords under terms that the president deems more fair to U.S. interests.<\/p>\n Also as part of the withdrawal from the agreement, the president committed to withdraw from the $100 billion Green Climate Fund. The U.S. has already provided $1 billion to the fund.<\/p>\n \u201cExiting the Paris Agreements protects the United States from future intrusions on United States sovereignty,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n So what does all of this mean?<\/p>\n Honestly, not much for businesses. It reinforces the president\u2019s signals that he will privilege fossil fuels like coal and oil over renewable resources. And despite those signals, the move toward renewables will likely persist.<\/p>\n As\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0<\/em>notes:<\/p>\n The Trump\u00a0administration\u2019s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement<\/a> heralds a decisive change in U.S. climate policy, but\u00a0many\u00a0corporate leaders say it will have little\u00a0immediate\u00a0impact on their investments and strategies.<\/p>\n The reasons are diverse. Companies are responding to customer and shareholder\u00a0demands\u00a0to reduce\u00a0greenhouse-gas\u00a0emissions. Many large companies operate in states and countries that are implementing climate rules\u00a0and thus face pressures beyond the U.S. government.<\/p>\n Firms are buying natural gas and renewable electricity\u00a0that emits less because it is becoming cheaper.\u00a0And many are making long-term\u00a0capital investments that will reduce their carbon footprints with an eye toward future decades, not the current election cycle.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Indeed, while investors decried the decision, they admitted that their companies were already prepared for it.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of the folks working around energy and climate no longer seem to require policy support,\u201d said Shaun Abrahamson, a managing partner at Urban Us. \u201cBut more than that there seem to be enough businesses and consumers who are committed to climate action. Many of them opposed Trump, so in some ways, supporting startups in these areas will be another form of resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately the only consequence of the move is optical and political.<\/p>\n Given the terms of the agreement, the U.S. wouldn\u2019t actually withdraw from the accord until November 2020 (indeed, the first day the U.S. would be free of the accord would be one day after the presidential election).<\/p>\n What the president has done is put a pin in an eventual talking point for the 2020 election and cede any U.S. involvement in global negotiations on climate going forward.<\/p>\n Already the European Union has responded by beginning to embrace China\u2019s overtures<\/a> toward global treaties and taking a leadership role.<\/p>\n The president closed his speech with an appeal to his base.<\/p>\n \u201cI was elected by voters of Pittsburgh, not Paris. I promised I would exit or renegotiate any deal which fails to serve U.S. interests,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n And the mayor of Pittsburgh has a response.<\/p>\n As the Mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future. https:\/\/t.co\/3znXGTcd8C<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 bill peduto (@billpeduto) June 1, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Featured Image: Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Joining an overwhelming chorus that includes most Americans, several major businesses in the U.S. and much of the global community, several investors have come out swinging against President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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