When President Trump signed an executive order Monday to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement as part of his series of steps upon taking office, it was a shot across the bow of world leaders and top executives gathered in Davos, Switzerland.
Many of the political and business figures attending the World Economic Forum's annual conference support efforts to combat climate change, including the Paris Agreement, which nearly all countries agreed to in 2015. The United States' withdrawal from the pact is a signal from both the administration and the administration. lack of concern about rising global warming emissions, and also a rebuke of the kind of multilateralism that Davos has come to define.
The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum has long focused on climate and the environment. “Protecting the planet” is one of the five themes of this year's conference, and research from the organization shows that extreme weather is one of the world's biggest threats.
For years, policymakers and businesses at Davos have promoted their efforts to cut emissions, embrace clean energy and work together to combat global warming.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Tuesday that President Trump's actions would not cause Europe to change its plans. “Europe will stay the course and continue to work with all countries that want to protect nature and stop global warming,” she said. “The Paris Agreement remains the best hope for all humanity.”
United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell said the shift to clean energy would happen with or without the United States.
“The world is undergoing an energy transition that is unstoppable,” he said, adding that the US could rejoin the Paris Pact at any time.
Business leaders were more circumspect in their comments about Mr. Trump.
We Mean Business, a coalition of business advisory groups that support climate action, expressed frustration.
“While it is deeply disappointing that the new US presidential administration has decided to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, one country's decision does not change global conduct,” the group said in a statement.
But executives were careful not to say anything that could offend the new president.
“I think we all knew Paris was coming,” said Kate Brandt, Google's chief sustainability officer. “Many of the early conversations we've had with the new administration are around things like advanced nuclear energy, advanced geothermal energy, battery storage technology and the use cases of AI”
Kara Hurst, Amazon's chief sustainability officer, said her company is not rolling back climate goals because of the president's decision. “We are committed to our goals,” she said. “We remain on track. We do not deviate from that. I think most companies have long-term goals that they will pursue.”
Activists were more outspoken in their condemnation of Trump's move to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
“No country, let alone one man, can stop the global energy transition,” said Tzeporah Berman, a Canadian climate activist and chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. “Trump is desperately trying to cling to the past, even as the reality of our heavy dependence on fossil fuels is etched into the scorched landscape of Los Angeles. What he did yesterday will cost lives and keep Americans and the world from protecting what we love.”
