Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the Paris Climate Agreement is going to have serious economic consequences for the United States. This historic agreement would have created new jobs, propelled economic growth, and kept the United States a competitive force globally. Business and world leaders are voicing their dismay and concern over Trump’s pivot away from global progress that will not only hurt the environment, but the economy, and the future of generations to come.

Financial Times: “But businesses in renewable energy and other industries involved with curbing emissions worry that the signal sent by the estrangement of the US from the rest of the world on climate strategy will deter investment and hurt sales.”

Business Insider: “While these effects would be different in different countries around the world, the researchers estimated that US GDP between 2016 and 2099 would be 36% lower if climate trends continue, compared to a world with more stable temperatures.”

Business Insider: “Trump made job creation a focus of his campaign promises, but, according to Sterman, ceding climate-action leadership to China would ‘cost jobs in the United States.’ Several jobs in producing wind turbines and solar panels have already been lost to China, but the US would lose more if it pulled out, he said. Sterman said the US would lose jobs that could only be done locally, like installing, operating, and maintaining solar panels and wind turbines. These kinds of jobs mostly are occupied by blue-collar workers, who are ‘the base of President Trump's support,’ Sterman said.”

WBUR: Roberton Williams of Resources for the Future: “This could also, pulling out of the agreement, could hurt U.S. standing around the world, that if we're not willing to cooperate with other countries on this, maybe next time we want them to cooperate with us, they won't be willing to do so. And that could have very serious costs for the U.S. economy.”

USA Today: “But, economists and energy experts warn, over time the controversial decision to drop out of the international pact to help stem climate change may hamper the nation's ability to financially capitalize on the globe's shift to renewable resources. Leaving the Paris agreement jeopardizes the U.S.'s ability to be a global leader in new clean technology developments and sell those insights to a world hungry for cheap energy, experts say.”

USA Today: “Job creation in renewable energy dwarfs coal, which was an obsession with Trump on the campaign trail, Phillips says, citing a Department of Energy report in January that noted the coal industry employs about 160,000 in the U.S., and is shrinking, while jobs are growing in the areas of energy-efficiency (2.2 million), natural gas (400,000), solar (374,000) and wind (102,000).”

Financial Times: “David MacLennan, chief executive of Minnesota-based Cargill, the world’s leading agricultural commodities trader, said the company would be ‘incredibly disappointed’ if Mr Trump decided to take the US out of the agreement that the previous administration joined in 2015. ‘Signing the accord means being a champion for US economic growth and job creation,’ Mr MacLennan said. ‘If the US exits international accords like the Paris agreement it will negatively impact trade, economic vitality, the state of our environment and relationships among the world community.’”