WASHINGTON — ITI, the global voice of the tech sector, today released the following statement from President and CEO Dean Garfield after President Donald Trump announced his decision to have the United States leave the COP-21 Paris Climate Change agreement and enter into a new arrangement:

“This is clearly disappointing, and a setback for America’s leadership in the world,” Garfield said. “Despite this, the tech industry’s determination to innovate and problem-solve for the threats posed by climate change and generate clean energy opportunities that create jobs and grow our economy remains unchanged.”

Before the decision, Garfield joined technology company CEOs and businesses of all sizes across all sectors of the economy in calling on President Trump to keep the United States in the agreement and embrace the economic and job creation benefits the U.S. would gain from the innovations and clean energy industries being developed to curb climate change.

ITI supports the agreement and its member companies have been strong supporters of the accord which has been endorsed up to this point by all but two countries:

Last month, Garfield wrote about the rapid growth of the U.S. clean energy industry and its economic benefits: employing four million Americans in jobs that tend to pay $5,000 more than the median U.S. salary, with estimates that solar and wind jobs are set to grow at a rate 12 times as fast as the rest of the U.S. economy.

The multiplier benefits of clean energy job creation and U.S. economic growth was underscored in a groundbreaking study released earlier this year by ITI and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) that concluded states that are investing in clean domestic energy production are also the most likely to attract new businesses, creating thousands of jobs in their communities. The report notes that demand for clean energy among technology companies and retailers is expected to increase to 60 gigawatts by 2025—the equivalent of powering over 43 million homes for a year—as Fortune 500 companies represented by ITI and RILA seek to locate operations in states with clean energy production due to fossil fuel price volatility and pollution concerns.

ITI joined over 1,000 companies, investors and organizations in signing on to the Business Backs Low-Carbon USA statement, which highlights the broad competitive and economic benefits of clean energy and urges the president and other world leaders to remain committed to the Paris Climate Agreement.

# # #

Related [Energy, Environment & Sustainability]