WASHINGTON — ITI, the global voice of the tech sector, today released the following statement from President and CEO Dean Garfield as the White House considers whether or not to keep the United States in the COP-21 Paris Climate Change agreement:

“Climate change is real and addressing it is a shared responsibility. The Paris agreement is a critical component of embracing that responsibility in a fashion that sustains our planet and stimulates innovation,” Garfield says. “The perception that we have to decide between creating jobs or tackling climate change is a false choice. Our clean energy industry is growing and employing millions of Americans in good-paying jobs in both red and blue states as it powers more of our businesses and communities. It is not too late for the president to stay the course and work with the tech industry to ensure that more clean energy jobs continue to go to Americans and that U.S. leadership in innovation is second to none.”

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.

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