‘Everyone's afraid to offend the president’: Tech giants maintain silence on Paris
Silicon Valley vocally condemned President Donald Trump for withdrawing from the climate accord during his initial term. This time around? Silence.
TroibNews 
Tech industry leaders expressed significant criticism eight years ago when President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. However, this week, as he repeated that action, their response was notably muted. Instead, many executives traveled to Washington to celebrate his return to the presidency.
The contrast between the situations in 2017 and today is stark: Global heat-trapping emissions continue to rise, and the frequency of climate-related disasters is increasing. This uptick aligns with the tech sector's growing energy demands, largely driven by data centers tied to artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. Consequently, there appears to be a closer alliance between a president promoting fossil fuels and Silicon Valley executives who seem less inclined to challenge his retreat from the international climate pact.
"Optimistic and celebrating," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg remarked shortly after Trump ordered the U.S. exit from the Paris Agreement. His post, while not directly addressing the withdrawal, featured an American flag emoji and a beaming photo of him and his wife Priscilla Chan dressed in black-tie attire while preparing to co-host an inaugural ball for Trump, who had threatened to jail Zuckerberg just a year prior.
Leaders from Apple, Microsoft, and Google congratulated Trump on his second inauguration, contributing millions to his inaugural committee. Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk significantly shifted his position: He had previously criticized Trump’s first exit from the Paris Agreement and distanced himself from the administration's advisory councils. This week, however, after channeling at least $277 million toward Trump and Republican campaigns for the 2024 election, he played a prominent role in the inauguration festivities and secured an influential position in Trump’s administration.
"Eight years ago many tech leaders rightly condemned Trump’s withdrawal from Paris," noted Bill Weihl, former director of sustainability at Facebook and founder of the environmental advocacy group ClimateVoice. "Their silence now is cowardly, complicit in reinforcing the status quo fossil fuel economy, and shows that they care more about their own profits than the American people."
Apple, Google, Meta, and Tesla did not respond to inquiries for comments, and Microsoft declined to provide a statement. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields remarked, "Silicon Valley is embracing President Trump because they have been failed by the Democrats' weak and incompetent leadership for the last four years. American energy is being unleashed."
Trump has tied his advocacy for oil and gas development to a goal shared by some in Silicon Valley: "winning the A.I. arms race with China," as he stated when appointing former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department and a planned National Energy Council. He considers increased fossil fuel production critical for achieving the country's AI objectives. In contrast, former President Joe Biden prioritized AI development alongside renewable energy advancements.
Trump's administration has enlisted OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle to lead a $500 billion AI and data center megaproject called Stargate, though the energy sources for this initiative remain unspecified. David Victor, a professor of innovation and public policy at the University of California, San Diego, expressed, "It is clear that everyone's afraid to offend the president. Logically, it's because they're worried about retaliation and about keeping whatever favors they think they can get from government."
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, exemplified the new attitude, having previously committed $10 billion to an environmental organization during the Biden administration. Alongside Musk, he attended Trump's second inauguration, sharing a prominent space with Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Google's Sundar Pichai. An Amazon spokesperson stated the company remains dedicated to achieving net-zero carbon emissions across its global operations by 2040.
Under Trump, the tech industry has seen a shift. He has long shown skepticism toward international agreements and was particularly irked by the United Nations-brokered Paris Agreement. Initially, Trump wrestled with the decision to withdraw during his first term, with several advisers advocating for continued participation to maintain influence over climate regulations.
Apple CEO Tim Cook personally lobbied Trump to remain in the Paris deal. Publicly, Apple, along with Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, signed a letter urging Trump to stay in the 2015 agreement. Nonetheless, Trump decided against it.
Following Trump's June 1, 2017, announcement regarding the withdrawal, tech leaders quickly expressed their discontent. Musk exited the White House's business councils, proclaiming, “climate change is real,” while other tech CEOs utilized social media to criticize the move. Zuckerberg stated on Facebook that withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement was "bad for the environment, bad for the economy, and it puts our children's future at risk." Cook called the decision "wrong for our planet," while Pichai expressed disappointment, and Microsoft's Satya Nadella emphasized the urgency of global action on climate change.
They formed a coalition in 2017 that evolved into America Is All In, a group of leaders vowing to help the U.S. achieve its promised emissions reductions. Facebook and Microsoft even prepared climate action plans outlining their strategies for reducing carbon emissions.
In 2020, Microsoft surprised corporate America by committing to being "carbon negative" by the decade's end, aiming to extract more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits. Apple, Google, and Facebook made similar, albeit less ambitious, carbon neutrality pledges for 2030. Biden faced a challenge when he took office, rejoining the Paris Agreement and prioritizing climate action as a central aspect of his administration. Following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which allocated hundreds of billions for climate initiatives, many tech firms intensified their commitments to reduce carbon emissions.
Simultaneously, the tech giants invested billions in developing AI applications, along with the energy infrastructure needed to support them. Since declaring its carbon negative pledge in 2020, Microsoft's emissions have increased by 29 percent, and Google's emissions have surged by 67 percent during the same timeframe. In its 2024 environmental report, Google acknowledged that “reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute.”
Despite initial enthusiasm for Biden's climate policies, tech companies found themselves at odds with his administration over issues crucial to their profitability. Biden's officials took a tough stance against tech consolidation, ramping up antitrust lawsuits against major firms such as Google and Facebook and initiating investigations into Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and the chipmaker Nvidia.
Biden also supported labor initiatives, notably during a high-profile unionization effort at Amazon, criticizing the company over tax contributions during economic inflation. In turn, Bezos accused the administration of “misdirection.” Musk has had his own contentious relationship with Biden, despite backing Trump’s campaign financially.
The major tech firms historically had conflicts with Trump as well; platforms like Twitter and Facebook banned him temporarily following the January 6, 2021, Capitol assault. At that time, Apple, Google, and Amazon took similar actions to limit access to Parler, a social media platform favored by Trump supporters.
After Trump's return to the White House, Bezos and other tech leaders visited his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to meet with him, despite his rejection of climate science principles. Analysts and advocates expect that while these companies are likely to maintain their carbon-cutting commitments under Trump, they may do so with less enthusiasm and visibility.
"Investors and companies understand that the demand for energy is changing, and that diversified businesses are poised to be the energy companies of the future," commented Kirsten Spalding, vice president at Ceres, an institution promoting climate action. She emphasized the significance of real-world efforts over political declarations, stating, “It's like putting a billboard up, but it doesn't actually change the work.”
Victor noted a disconnect between Silicon Valley's activities and the discussions at various international forums, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos. Executives at the forum highlighted corporate commitments to carbon capture and renewable energy investments while, paradoxically, "their bosses are kissing the ring."
In his address to the audience in Davos, Trump discussed plans to unleash America's "liquid gold" and establish new coal-fired power plants to fuel data centers. Notably, during the subsequent Q&A session with corporate leaders, no inquiries were made regarding climate change.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
The contrast between the situations in 2017 and today is stark: Global heat-trapping emissions continue to rise, and the frequency of climate-related disasters is increasing. This uptick aligns with the tech sector's growing energy demands, largely driven by data centers tied to artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. Consequently, there appears to be a closer alliance between a president promoting fossil fuels and Silicon Valley executives who seem less inclined to challenge his retreat from the international climate pact.
"Optimistic and celebrating," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg remarked shortly after Trump ordered the U.S. exit from the Paris Agreement. His post, while not directly addressing the withdrawal, featured an American flag emoji and a beaming photo of him and his wife Priscilla Chan dressed in black-tie attire while preparing to co-host an inaugural ball for Trump, who had threatened to jail Zuckerberg just a year prior.
Leaders from Apple, Microsoft, and Google congratulated Trump on his second inauguration, contributing millions to his inaugural committee. Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk significantly shifted his position: He had previously criticized Trump’s first exit from the Paris Agreement and distanced himself from the administration's advisory councils. This week, however, after channeling at least $277 million toward Trump and Republican campaigns for the 2024 election, he played a prominent role in the inauguration festivities and secured an influential position in Trump’s administration.
"Eight years ago many tech leaders rightly condemned Trump’s withdrawal from Paris," noted Bill Weihl, former director of sustainability at Facebook and founder of the environmental advocacy group ClimateVoice. "Their silence now is cowardly, complicit in reinforcing the status quo fossil fuel economy, and shows that they care more about their own profits than the American people."
Apple, Google, Meta, and Tesla did not respond to inquiries for comments, and Microsoft declined to provide a statement. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields remarked, "Silicon Valley is embracing President Trump because they have been failed by the Democrats' weak and incompetent leadership for the last four years. American energy is being unleashed."
Trump has tied his advocacy for oil and gas development to a goal shared by some in Silicon Valley: "winning the A.I. arms race with China," as he stated when appointing former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department and a planned National Energy Council. He considers increased fossil fuel production critical for achieving the country's AI objectives. In contrast, former President Joe Biden prioritized AI development alongside renewable energy advancements.
Trump's administration has enlisted OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle to lead a $500 billion AI and data center megaproject called Stargate, though the energy sources for this initiative remain unspecified. David Victor, a professor of innovation and public policy at the University of California, San Diego, expressed, "It is clear that everyone's afraid to offend the president. Logically, it's because they're worried about retaliation and about keeping whatever favors they think they can get from government."
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, exemplified the new attitude, having previously committed $10 billion to an environmental organization during the Biden administration. Alongside Musk, he attended Trump's second inauguration, sharing a prominent space with Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Google's Sundar Pichai. An Amazon spokesperson stated the company remains dedicated to achieving net-zero carbon emissions across its global operations by 2040.
Under Trump, the tech industry has seen a shift. He has long shown skepticism toward international agreements and was particularly irked by the United Nations-brokered Paris Agreement. Initially, Trump wrestled with the decision to withdraw during his first term, with several advisers advocating for continued participation to maintain influence over climate regulations.
Apple CEO Tim Cook personally lobbied Trump to remain in the Paris deal. Publicly, Apple, along with Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, signed a letter urging Trump to stay in the 2015 agreement. Nonetheless, Trump decided against it.
Following Trump's June 1, 2017, announcement regarding the withdrawal, tech leaders quickly expressed their discontent. Musk exited the White House's business councils, proclaiming, “climate change is real,” while other tech CEOs utilized social media to criticize the move. Zuckerberg stated on Facebook that withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement was "bad for the environment, bad for the economy, and it puts our children's future at risk." Cook called the decision "wrong for our planet," while Pichai expressed disappointment, and Microsoft's Satya Nadella emphasized the urgency of global action on climate change.
They formed a coalition in 2017 that evolved into America Is All In, a group of leaders vowing to help the U.S. achieve its promised emissions reductions. Facebook and Microsoft even prepared climate action plans outlining their strategies for reducing carbon emissions.
In 2020, Microsoft surprised corporate America by committing to being "carbon negative" by the decade's end, aiming to extract more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits. Apple, Google, and Facebook made similar, albeit less ambitious, carbon neutrality pledges for 2030. Biden faced a challenge when he took office, rejoining the Paris Agreement and prioritizing climate action as a central aspect of his administration. Following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which allocated hundreds of billions for climate initiatives, many tech firms intensified their commitments to reduce carbon emissions.
Simultaneously, the tech giants invested billions in developing AI applications, along with the energy infrastructure needed to support them. Since declaring its carbon negative pledge in 2020, Microsoft's emissions have increased by 29 percent, and Google's emissions have surged by 67 percent during the same timeframe. In its 2024 environmental report, Google acknowledged that “reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute.”
Despite initial enthusiasm for Biden's climate policies, tech companies found themselves at odds with his administration over issues crucial to their profitability. Biden's officials took a tough stance against tech consolidation, ramping up antitrust lawsuits against major firms such as Google and Facebook and initiating investigations into Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and the chipmaker Nvidia.
Biden also supported labor initiatives, notably during a high-profile unionization effort at Amazon, criticizing the company over tax contributions during economic inflation. In turn, Bezos accused the administration of “misdirection.” Musk has had his own contentious relationship with Biden, despite backing Trump’s campaign financially.
The major tech firms historically had conflicts with Trump as well; platforms like Twitter and Facebook banned him temporarily following the January 6, 2021, Capitol assault. At that time, Apple, Google, and Amazon took similar actions to limit access to Parler, a social media platform favored by Trump supporters.
After Trump's return to the White House, Bezos and other tech leaders visited his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to meet with him, despite his rejection of climate science principles. Analysts and advocates expect that while these companies are likely to maintain their carbon-cutting commitments under Trump, they may do so with less enthusiasm and visibility.
"Investors and companies understand that the demand for energy is changing, and that diversified businesses are poised to be the energy companies of the future," commented Kirsten Spalding, vice president at Ceres, an institution promoting climate action. She emphasized the significance of real-world efforts over political declarations, stating, “It's like putting a billboard up, but it doesn't actually change the work.”
Victor noted a disconnect between Silicon Valley's activities and the discussions at various international forums, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos. Executives at the forum highlighted corporate commitments to carbon capture and renewable energy investments while, paradoxically, "their bosses are kissing the ring."
In his address to the audience in Davos, Trump discussed plans to unleash America's "liquid gold" and establish new coal-fired power plants to fuel data centers. Notably, during the subsequent Q&A session with corporate leaders, no inquiries were made regarding climate change.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
