Trump and Big Oil Part Ways over Possible Paris Climate Agreement Withdrawal

President-elect Trump is being urged by Big Oil to remain in the Paris climate agreement, despite withdrawing from it during his previous term.

Nearly 195 countries have committed to international cooperation on climate change through the legally binding Paris Agreement, established at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in 2015.

In 2020, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the treaty, but was reinstated in 2021 after President Biden took office.

If Trump wins a second term in the 2024 election, he may consider withdrawing from the agreement again. Nevertheless, some oil companies have voiced opposition to this idea.

In 2017, when Trump revealed his intention to withdraw from the climate accord, Shell's then-CEO, Ben van Beurden, was against the move.

"Van Beurden stated to NPR that climate change is real and the world requires an energy transition to prevent a substantial increase in global temperatures. He emphasized the importance of being part of the solution to make it happen."

As he prepares for his second term, Trump is being urged to reconsider his decision to withdraw from the international climate accord.

"According to Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, the stops and starts are not suitable for businesses as they are highly inefficient and generate a great deal of uncertainty."

As administrations change, it's not beneficial for business to have the pendulum swing back and forth, according to Woods' suggestion.

The American Petroleum Institute told Planet Chronicle Digital that they support the treaty's ambitions when asked if Trump should consider staying in the agreement.

"An API spokesperson stated to Fox that the organization has consistently backed the objectives of the Paris Agreement, such as global efforts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and ease poverty worldwide. The US is the world's top energy producer and greenhouse gas emitter, and our industry continues to prioritize speeding up that advancement."

Politico reported in June that the Trump campaign confirmed that the president-elect would support reentering the agreement if elected for a second term.

Chevron, TotalEnergies, and BP were contacted by Planet Chronicle Digital for comment but did not respond by the deadline.