Create a free Manufacturing.net account to continue

GE CEO Calls For US Leadership On Climate Change

Jeffrey Immelt wrote to GE employees after President Trump rolled back efforts to reduce power plant emissions.

The chief executive of industrial giant General Electric last week argued that "climate change is real" and should be addressed through broad, multi-national agreements.

The blog post authored by GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, according to The Wall Street Journal, urged the U.S. to remain a leader in addressing climate challenges the day after President Donald Trump targeted an Obama administration directive to reduce emissions from power plants.

Some business groups support rolling back what is known as the Clean Power Plan, which required power plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly one-third of 2005 levels by 2030.

The rule was tied up in a court challenge and the executive order signed by Trump ordered a review of the proposal — a first step toward tolling back its requirements.

Many prominent businesses, however, warned that humans are contributing to climate change. The executive order effectively ends U.S. efforts to comply with the goals of a 2015 Paris climate agreement signed by nearly every nation.

Trump previously vowed to back out of that pact, but the Journal noted that even energy companies such as Exxon Mobil see the agreement as a potential boon for natural gas and alternative energy sources.

GE, the paper added, produces turbines for power plants but also makes wind turbines and invested billions in emissions-reduction technologies.

“We believe climate change is real and the science is well accepted,” Immelt wrote to employees.

More in Energy