Apple, Facebook, Google want to be a part of Paris deal

Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are joining hundreds of businesses that are pledging their support for the Paris climate agreement, which President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from last week.

The initiative, called “We Are Still In,” backs the global agreement seeking reduced greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change.

“The Trump administration’s announcement undermines a key pillar in the fight against climate change and damages the world’s ability to avoid the most dangerous and costly effects of climate change,” those behind the initiative said in an announcement “Importantly, it is also out of step with what is happening in the United States.”

{mosads}They wrote that they would take action to pursue “pursue ambitious climate goals,” even without the U.S. government formally agreeing to do so.

“In the U.S., it is local and state governments, along with businesses, that are primarily responsible for the dramatic decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years,” they wrote. “Actions by each group will multiply and accelerate in the years ahead, no matter what policies Washington may adopt.”

Michael Bloomberg’s Bloomberg Philanthropies, liberal think tank Center For American Progress and the Sierra Club are among the organizers of the coalition. State and local governments and presidents of major U.S. colleges are also taking part.

Some of the firms on the list have already made commitments to reduce emissions.

“We remain steadfastly committed to the sustainability, carbon and energy goals that we have set as a company and to the Paris Agreement’s ultimate success,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a release.

“I want to reassure you that today’s developments will have no impact on Apple’s efforts to protect the environment,” Apple CEO Tim Cook similarly wrote in an internal email last week, obtained by Bloomberg. “We’re going to keep working with our suppliers to help them do more to power their businesses with clean energy.”

Prior to Trump’s announcement last week, tech CEOs, including Cook and Tesla’s Elon Musk had lobbied the president to stay in the agreement. Other firms also jointly put in full page ads in major newspapers making their case to Trump.