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The White House Now Has 81 Companies Backing Its Climate Action Pledge

President Obama gets 81 corporations to back his climate change pledge.

GettyImages-171494444
GettyImages-171494444

President Barack Obama scored a big win on his plan to combat climate change Monday, with a total of 81 corporate allies now backing him.

President Barack Obama scored a big win on his plan to combat climate change Monday, with a total of 81 corporate allies now backing him.

The White House said 68 new companies joined the American Business Act on Climate pledge; 13 had already done so. Some of the signatories include Nike, Ikea, General Motors, Best Buy, Bank of America, Google, and Wal-Mart.

“These 81 companies have operations in all 50 states, employ over 9 million people, represent more than $3 trillion in annual revenue, and have a combined market capitalization of over $5 trillion,” the White House said in a statement Monday.

Obama is trying to win support from the private sector for his plan ahead of a U.N. climate conference in France that will get underway Nov. 30. He’s hoping that backing from a broad array of companies will pressure delegates from almost 200 countries to come to some kind of an agreement to combat climate change.

Energy giants including ExxonMobil and Chevron were not on the list of signatories. Those firms that did sign could find themselves at odds with Republicans, who downplay man’s effect on global temperatures.

Corporate America has often been ahead of the curve on climate change. During Obama’s initial push to act on it in 2009, Apple left the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because the business federation opposed plans to reduce greenhouse gases.

Obama’s announcement comes after the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, a group comprising 10 of the world’s large oil companies, acknowledged that they agreed with U.N. goals to curb global warming. None of the companies were American.

Firms that signed on to Obama’s plan promised to cut their own emissions. They also pledged to push for a climate deal in France.

Photo credit: Mandel Ngan/Getty Images

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