Exxon chief presses Trump to stay in Paris climate agreement

Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods urged President-elect Trump to stay in the Paris climate agreement, as the oil and gas industry prepares for the new administration.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Woods said the U.S. shouldn’t pull out of the agreement, an international pledge that seeks to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Woods argued a U.S. exit from the 2015 agreement, as Trump has proposed, would cause confusion around the world regarding climate efforts. The Trump administration first announced it would leave the accords in 2017.

Exxon has publicly supported the Paris Agreement since 2015, the Journal noted.

In 2020, the U.S. officially left the Paris climate accord. It was set in motion a year prior by Trump during his first term and was a landmark decision making the U.S. the only country in the world to withdraw from the agreement.

Under President Biden, the U.S. rejoined the agreement in 2021.

Woods told the Journal that it’s not helpful for businesses to have a “pendulum swing back and forth” as administrations change.

“I don’t think the stops and starts are the right thing for business,” he said. “It is extremely inefficient. It creates a lot of uncertainty.”

The Hill has reached out to a Trump spokesperson for comment.