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Elon Musk has a message for President Donald Trump: Don’t leave the Paris climate agreement.
As media reported Wednesday that Trump was prepared to exit the 2015 global pact aimed at reducing the effects of climate change, Musk warned the president to uphold the agreement. If the president decides to scrap U.S. participation, the Tesla CEO said he would stop participating in White House councils.
Musk serves on the administration’s Strategic and Policy Forum, as well as its manufacturing council. The CEO of SpaceX, Musk has said further delay in adopting policies to mitigate climate change would cause more “destruction than all the wars in history combined.”
During his campaign, Trump pledged to leave the global climate pact brokered by the Obama administration in 2015 because he said it would damage the U.S. economy and cost jobs. Business leaders, including others in technology, have urged Trump to reconsider.
Powerhouse companies including Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google and Intel took out a full-page ad in the New York Times, the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal asking Trump not to leave the agreement. The ad said that climate change is both a “business risk” and a “business opportunity,” and said continued participation in Paris will actually benefit the U.S. economy and job growth. The companies said it would reduce competitive imbalances for U.S. companies, expand the market for innovative clean technology and reduce business risks posed by future negative climate impacts.
Oil companies have also voiced support for the agreement. ExxonMobil, BP, Shell and Chevron all want the U.S. to remain. On Wednesday, Exxon shareholders voted to require the company to produce an annual report examining how the oil and gas giant will be impacted by efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions directed by the Paris agreement. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former Exxon CEO, is among those in the Trump administration urging the president to keep the U.S. commitment.
Others supporting the agreement include his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt and White House strategist Steve Bannon want Trump to withdraw.
The president tweeted Wednesday that he would make his decision soon.