CEO Tim Cook issued an internal email to Apple employees yesterday saying that corporate environmental efforts will continue even though a personal appeal to President Donald Trump failed to stop him from pulling the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.
In the email — obtained by Axios — Cook had this to say:
“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.”
Trump announced on Thursday that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate accord, weakening efforts to combat global warming. In a speech from the Rose Garden, he said the 2015 pact imposed wildly unfair environmental standards on American businesses and workers. Trump vowed to stand with the people of the United States against what he called a “draconian” international deal.
Under the accord, the U.S. had pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2025 and commit up to $3 billion in aid for poorer countries by 2020. In a joint statement, the leaders of France, Germany and Italy responded to Trump’s decision “with regret.”
