On June 1, President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement and since then, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:$TSLA), has left his roles on two White House councils.
It was only after minutes after Trump disclosed the U.S.’s departure from the climate accord that Musk tweeted, “am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.”
195 nations, including the United States, had agreed to the climate accord in Paris back in 2015 and as of right now, it is one of the most important issues of the 21st century. Originally, the United States had vowed to cut down its greenhouse-gas emissions by 26% to 28% below its 2005 level by the year 2025. Musk went on to explain that he had done everything in his power to encourage Trump to remain in the climate accord. Now, under Trump’s actions, the United States will join Syria and Nicaragua as the globe’s only non-participants in the Paris Agreement.
The Tesla CEO knew prior to June 1 that he would “have no choice but to depart councils” if Trump stopped the United States participation in the accord. Musk has been subject to critique from opponents of Trump after his decision to join the White House, advisory groups.
Following in Musk’s lead, Robert Iger, the chief executive of Walt Disney Co., also quit Trump’s advisory board on the day of the announcement. “As a matter of principle, I’ve resigned from the President’s Council over the Paris Agreement withdrawal,” tweeted Iger.
The Trump administration is pro-fossil fuels and the 45th President of the United States believes that the Paris Agreement would “punish” the United States as it would impose “onerous” energy restrictions. However, he stated that he would consider renegotiating the terms, or would be willing to create a new deal that is better suited to the U.S.
“The United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, but begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or an entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers,” stated Trump.
In December, Trump had chosen to add Musk to his “strategic and policy forum”. This council was meant to inform the president on the best ways to go about handling job creation and the economy. Additionally, Musk was part of Trump’s manufacturing jobs initiative group.
Featured Image: twitter
