{"id":333602,"date":"2025-11-28T11:23:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T16:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/?post_type=to4_article_post&#038;p=333602"},"modified":"2025-11-28T11:23:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T16:23:34","slug":"trumps-second-term-dispels-any-notion-of-ceos-saving-us-from-climate-crisis","status":"publish","type":"to4_article_post","link":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/trumps-second-term-dispels-any-notion-of-ceos-saving-us-from-climate-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Second Term Dispels Any Notion of CEOs Saving Us From Climate Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"truth-post-content-before\" id=\"truth-287105193\"><div class=\"callout callout inline-callout mb-5 callout--text callout--text\" id=\"truth-304218\" data-callout-id=\"304218\" data-callout-theme=\"text\" data-callout-placement=\"Undefined\" data-callout-title=\"BCB 304218 Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news...\"><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news \u2014 make a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/support.truthout.org\/-\/XXQLBDSX\/&amp;utm_source=truthout&amp;utm_medium=bcb&amp;utm_campaign=304218\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quick donation<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to Truthout today!\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Billionaire executives have <a href=\"https:\/\/content.time.com\/time\/covers\/0,16641,19991227,00.html\">long<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.theceomagazine.com\/us\/product\/the-ceo-magazine-north-america-january-2019\/\">been<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/macdailynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/150326_fortune_tim_cook.jpg?w=590&amp;ssl=1\">lauded<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/s.wsj.net\/public\/resources\/images\/ON-CO850_Cover0_KS_20180622180138.jpg\">by the<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/content.time.com\/time\/covers\/0,16641,20051226,00.html#:~:text=TIME%20Magazine%20Cover:%20The%20Good,of%20the%20Year%20%2D%20Philanthropy%20%2D%20Charity\">corporate media<\/a> as unfettered heroes advancing human progress. But the first year of Donald Trump\u2019s second presidential term should dispel any notion that wealthy CEOs will save us from the twin crises of creeping authoritarianism and intensifying global climate chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, many of these supposed icons have wasted little time groveling to Trump as he consolidates new levels of centralized power to advance a far right agenda and doubles down on climate-destroying fossil fuels. I\u2019m not speaking of the openly reactionary oligarchs like Elon Musk or Peter Thiel, but of the likes of OpenAI\u2019s Sam Altman, Amazon\u2019s Jeff Bezos, Meta\u2019s Mark Zuckerberg, and BlackRock\u2019s Larry Fink, who in times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2016-10-20\/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-says-trump-is-eroding-our-democracy\">past<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/story\/2025-02-03\/mark-zuckerberg-once-a-trump-critic-cozies-up-to-the-president\">have<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/openais-sam-altman-warned-america-trump-now-partnering\/story?id=118145337\">directly or<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/01\/06\/business\/capitol-hill-violence-business-leaders#:~:text=Chamber%20of%20Commerce:%20Congress%20must%20meet%20tonight&amp;text=Other%20leaders%20across%20Wall%20Street,held%20accountable%20for%20their%20actions.%E2%80%9D\">indirectly<\/a> criticized Trump\u2019s authoritarian tendencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We shouldn\u2019t be surprised. Board directors and CEOs driven by profit motives have long shown that they favor corporate interests over democracy at <a href=\"https:\/\/rooseveltinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RI_Citizens-United-15-Years-Later_Report_202510.pdf\">home<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2013\/9\/10\/the_pinochet_file_how_us_politicians_banks_corporations_aided_chilean_coup_dictatorship\">abroad<\/a>, while climate pledges by big businesses have always smacked of greenwashing and largely avoided the underlying need to stop extracting and burning fossil fuels.<\/p><div class=\"truth-post-content-high\" id=\"truth-778151462\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout--subscribe callout--dark\" id=\"truth-255395\" data-callout-id=\"255395\" data-callout-theme=\"dark\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - High\" data-callout-title=\"Uncompromised, uncompromising news\"><h2>Uncompromised, uncompromising news<\/h2>\n<p>Get reliable, independent news and 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);\n<\/script>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\"><blockquote><p>Board directors and CEOs driven by profit motives have long shown that they favor corporate interests over democracy at home and abroad.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cy40z22qqwwo\">Protesters<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cy40z22qqwwo\">made themselves<\/a> heard at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2025\/nov\/14\/fossil-fuel-lobbyists-cop30\">fossil-fuel-infiltrated<\/a> COP30 climate negotiations in Bel\u00e9m, Brazil, this month, but the summit\u2019s final agreement doesn\u2019t even mention fossil fuels, much less commit to phasing them out. This current conjuncture should serve as a reminder that we must look to bottom-up movements to create the power and pressure that will move us out of these crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf corporate executives from polluting corporations had a conscience, we wouldn&#8217;t be here,\u201d Rachel Rose Jackson, director of climate research and international policy at <a href=\"https:\/\/corporateaccountability.org\/\">Corporate Accountability<\/a>, a transnational corporate watchdog, told <em>Truthout<\/em>, speaking from COP30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cVisionaries\u201d Accommodating Autocracy<\/h2><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Less than a decade ago, some billionaires were expressing alarm over Donald Trump\u2019s rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTrump represents an unprecedented threat to America,\u201d OpenAI CEO Sam Altman <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/openais-sam-altman-warned-america-trump-now-partnering\/story?id=118145337\">wrote<\/a> in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI hear fearful voices calling for building walls and distancing people they label as others,\u201d Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/story\/2025-02-03\/mark-zuckerberg-once-a-trump-critic-cozies-up-to-the-president\">said<\/a> that same year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast forward to 2025. Altman now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/c3ac79f5-e2e4-4b45-96aa-7005a65ee550\">regularly visits<\/a> the White House as Trump\u2019s guest and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/politics\/article\/zuckerberg-trump-white-house-tech-ceo-dinner-21032977.php\">praises him<\/a> as a \u201cvery refreshing change.\u201d The <em>Financial Times <\/em>reports that Altman has drifted into Trump\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/c3ac79f5-e2e4-4b45-96aa-7005a65ee550\">inner circle<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like Altman, Zuckerberg is now a regular White House guest and has undergone his own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/07\/media\/mark-zuckerberg-meta-fact-checking-analysis\">MAGA makeover<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Altman and Apple CEO Tim Cook &#8212; as well as Amazon, Google, and Meta &#8212; all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/interactive\/2025\/trump-inauguration-donors-list\/\">gave $1 million each<\/a> to Trump\u2019s inaugural fund. They were among the dozens of corporate donors who underpinned the $239 million in total donations to the fund, by far the largest inaugural haul in U.S. history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cook also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/18\/us\/politics\/trump-saudi-dinner-guests.html\">attended<\/a> Trump\u2019s recent lavish dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During the Saudi leader\u2019s visit, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2025\/11\/18\/world\/trump-saudi-crown-prince-visit\">rationalized<\/a> the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by telling a reporter, \u201cA lot of people didn\u2019t like that gentleman,\u201d and that \u201cthings happen.\u201d According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/11\/16\/us\/politics\/cia-saudi-crown-prince-khashoggi.html\">U.S. intelligence<\/a>, bin Salman ordered the 2018 killing of Khashoggi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2017, both Cook and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., lambasted Trump\u2019s so-called &#8220;Muslim ban\u201d executive order. Today, as the Trump regime intensifies its racist assault on immigrants far beyond the scope of the president\u2019s first term, Cook and Pichai, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/profile\/tim-cook\/\">both<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/profile\/sundar-pichai\/\">billionaires<\/a>, are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/articles\/2025\/09\/president-trump-tech-leaders-unite-american-ai-dominance\/\">showering<\/a> Trump with praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Donald Trump that Altman and Zuckerberg criticized in 2016, and that Cook and Pichai criticized in 2017, has, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/31\/science\/trump-science-autocrats.html\">many<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/03\/21\/trump-authoritarian-erdogan-netanyahu-orban\/\">believe<\/a>, fine-tuned his far right autocratic policies in 2025. What explains the turnabout of these billionaire CEOs who we are constantly told are visionaries and agents of progress?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be at all surprised that these corporate executives, who have an established track record of choosing greed and power over the collective, are continuing to do whatever\u2019s needed that allows them to make as much money as possible,\u201d said Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignleft\"><blockquote><p>Big Tech and Wall Street barons have changed their tune and toned down criticism as they seek to cash in on the artificial intelligence boom.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Indeed, Big Tech and Wall Street barons have changed their tune and toned down criticism as they seek to cash in on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/whos-who-tech-leaders-attended-dinner-white-house-altman-pichai-2025-9\">artificial intelligence boom<\/a>, profit from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextgov.com\/acquisition\/2025\/07\/pentagon-awards-multiple-companies-200m-contracts-ai-tools\/406698\/\">lucrative federal contracts<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/09\/04\/google-ceo-thanks-trump-for-antitrust-resolution.html\">dodge regulatory scrutiny<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Altman &#8212; who in 2017 <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sama\/status\/787834062291345408\">said<\/a> Trump was \u201cunfit to be President and would be a threat to national security\u201d &#8212; joined the president on his first week in office in his second term as he <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-ai-openai-oracle-softbank-son-altman-ellison-be261f8a8ee07a0623d4170397348c41\">announced<\/a> the $500 billion Stargate artificial infrastructure initiative, of which OpenAI is a core partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eager to enter Trump\u2019s good graces, Amazon\u2019s Jeff Bezos paid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2025\/oct\/09\/amazon-melania-trump-documentary\">$40 million<\/a> to air a Melania Trump documentary on Prime Video while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/washington-post-owner-bezos-says-opinion-pages-shift-from-broad-focus-to-will-defend-free-market-and-personal-liberties\">shifting<\/a> <em>The<\/em> <em>Washington Post<\/em> to the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Big Tech barons &#8212; Altman, Zuckerberg, Pichai, Cook, and also Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and founder Bill Gates &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/ft.pressreader.com\/v99e\/20250906\/281822879929081\">are backing<\/a> Melania Trump\u2019s initiative to penetrate U.S. schools and colleges with artificial intelligence. Conveniently, Big Tech is set to <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/billionaires-who-aim-to-disrupt-education-may-get-a-chance-even-if-trump-loses\/\">profit handsomely<\/a> from this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As <em>Truthout <\/em>has <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/trumps-white-house-ballroom-is-being-bankrolled-by-genocide-and-ice-profiteers\/\">reported<\/a>, these same billionaires are also bankrolling Trump\u2019s massive new White House ballroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Doubling Down on Fossil Fuels<\/h2><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Powerful corporate actors, who just a few years ago packaged themselves as ardent climate advocates, have also been quick to accommodate themselves to Trump\u2019s doubling down on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBlackRock Chief Pushes a Big New Climate Goal for the Corporate World,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/01\/26\/business\/dealbook\/larry-fink-letter-blackrock-climate.html\">read<\/a> one <em>New York Times<\/em> headlinein 2021, reporting on BlackRock\u2019s Larry Fink\u2019s advocacy to CEOs of taking actions to move toward \u201ca net-zero economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because BlackRock is the world\u2019s biggest asset manager, with a top stake in thousands of companies, Fink\u2019s words are taken seriously as a barometer of corporate governance. In a 2020 CEO letter, Fink <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/14\/business\/dealbook\/larry-fink-blackrock-climate-change.html\">also stressed<\/a> climate themes and said BlackRock would exit \u201chigh sustainability-related risks\u201d like coal producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BlackRock and other financial firms had also joined global initiatives, such as Climate Action 100+ and the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, that professed commitments toward net-zero emissions and meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many have long said all this was merely a form of greenwashing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe vast majority of these corporate climate commitments, when inspected between the lines, were extremely deceptive,\u201d said Jackson, without concrete obligations around emissions reductions and relying on carbon offset markets that allowed companies to continue polluting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\"><blockquote><p>\u201cThe vast majority of \u2026 corporate climate commitments, when inspected between the lines, were extremely deceptive.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese plans were riddled with false solutions with no meaningful time commitments and were essentially just PR spins of the new brand of corporate greenwashing,\u201d Jackson added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2021, BlackRock\u2019s former chief investment officer of sustainable investing published a stunning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/2021\/03\/16\/wall-street-esg-sustainable-investing-greenwashing-column\/6948923002\/\"><em>USA Today<\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/2021\/03\/16\/wall-street-esg-sustainable-investing-greenwashing-column\/6948923002\/\"> op-ed<\/a> stating that \u201cthe financial services industry is duping the American public with its pro-environment, sustainable investing practices\u201d and that in essence, Wall Street is greenwashing the economic system and, in the process, creating a deadly distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, in 2025, the flimsiness of these business assurances around climate has come into focus as CEOs rush to ditch net-zero pledges and flee even nonbinding climate initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2024, for example, BlackRock has exited both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.climateaction100.org\/news\/climate-action-100-reaction-to-recent-departures\/\">Climate Action 100+<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/blackrock-quits-climate-group-wall-streets-latest-environmental-step-back-2025-01-09\/\">Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative<\/a>. Other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2025\/oct\/03\/banking-industry-net-zero-alliance-shuts-down-climate-nzba\">powerhouse banks <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/citywire.com\/selector\/news\/the-departure-of-five-us-asset-giants-from-climate-action-100-assessed\/a2439822\">asset managers<\/a> that previously gave lip service to coordinated climate action &#8212; from JPMorgan to Bank of America, from State Street to Invesco \u2013 have also left the climate initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All told, financial firms that oversee around $14 trillion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/sustainable-finance-reporting\/jpmorgan-fund-arm-quits-climate-action-100-investor-group-2024-02-15\/\">in assets<\/a> are pulling out of Climate Action 100+.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fink has also changed his tone and his tune. As a keynote speaker at a March 2025 energy conference dominated by the fossil fuel industry, Fink <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/mar\/12\/fossil-fuels-oil-gas-conference-ceraweek\">proudly sported<\/a> a \u201cMake Energy Great Again\u201d bracelet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nor is it just Wall Street and Big Tech firms retreating from climate commitments. Major <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainabilitymag.com\/news\/which-top-brands-are-linked-with-global-plastic-pollution\">users<\/a> of plastics (a key product of fossil fuels) &#8212; such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esgtoday.com\/pepsico-pushes-back-climate-packaging-goals-due-to-external-realities\/\">PepsiCo<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org\/blog\/2024\/12\/12\/coca-cola-quietly-drops-reuse-targets#:~:text=The%20company%20stated%20it%20has%20%60%60evolved''%20its,number%20of%20bottles%20and%20cans%20produced%20annually.\">Coca-Cola<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/climate-energy\/nestle-quits-global-alliance-reducing-dairy-methane-emissions-2025-10-08\/\">Nestl\u00e9<\/a> &#8212; have abandoned previous climate initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cClimate action isn&#8217;t expected from this administration, and so true to nature, corporations are ever quick to capitalize on this,\u201d said Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think that tells us everything we need to know about their motives,\u201d she added. \u201cBut importantly, we should have never needed this moment to have that confirmation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Big Tech and Big Oil<\/h2><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tech leaders have also fashioned themselves as climate champions, with billionaire CEOs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/newsroom\/2020\/07\/apple-commits-to-be-100-percent-carbon-neutral-for-its-supply-chain-and-products-by-2030\/\">across<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.microsoft.com\/on-the-issues\/2020\/07\/21\/carbon-negative-transform-to-net-zero\/\">Silicon Valley<\/a> touting net-zero and other \u201csustainability\u201d commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2024\/sep\/15\/data-center-gas-emissions-tech\">data center boom<\/a> and Big Tech\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Business\/tech-giants-sounded-alarm-climate-change-now-warming\/story?id=117138390\">cozying up<\/a> to a fossil-friendly Trump has eroded pretenses of the industry\u2019s prioritizing of climate issues, with energy-guzzling artificial intelligence giving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utilitydive.com\/news\/fossil-fuel-gas-coal-climate-data-centers\/753565\/\">new life<\/a> to dying fossil fuel infrastructure and fracked gas production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carbon emissions of major tech firms are \u201creally going through the roof,\u201d climate policy analyst Silke Mooldijk <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/05\/climate\/tech-companies-climate-goals.html\">told<\/a> <em>The<\/em> <em>New York Times <\/em>in August<em>. <\/em>In 2024, Google\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions grew by 11 percent while Amazon\u2019s grew by 6 percent. Even Microsoft\u2019s emissions, which slightly dipped, were still higher than in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/ft.pressreader.com\/v99e\/20250813\/281659671123311\"><em>Financial Times<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>also reports over 85 gas\u00adfired power facilities are being developed globally to feed data centers, which gobble up astronomical amounts of energy to power artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even when tech firms do claim to pursue climate aims, it\u2019s often through purchasing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/cop\/big-tech-led-demand-carbon-removal-credits-fuels-supply-crunch-2025-11-18\/#:~:text=Big%20Tech%20has%20collectively%20spent,period%2C%20the%20credit%20experts%20say.\">carbon offsets<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ft.pressreader.com\/v99e\/20250813\/281659671123311\">green power<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2024\/07\/17\/1095019\/google-amazon-and-the-problem-with-big-techs-climate-claims\/\">credits<\/a>, versus reducing direct emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignleft\"><blockquote><p>Even if Big Tech\u2019s entire supply chain was fully decarbonized, it would still be undergirding fossil fuel production.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, even if Big Tech\u2019s entire supply chain was fully decarbonized, it would still be undergirding fossil fuel production. Artificial intelligence and cloud services provided by the likes of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon widely support the exploration and extraction of oil and gas by corporations like <a href=\"https:\/\/logicmag.io\/nature\/oil-is-the-new-data\/\">Chevron<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-08-16\/microsoft-amazon-big-tech-help-big-oil-pump-more\">ExxonMobil<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBig Tech and AI are the largest partners of the fossil fuel industry,\u201d said Jackson. \u201cThey directly enable the fossil fuel industry to find oil in hard-to-reach places, not to mention that their data centers generate an energy demand that\u2019s met by fossil fuel suppliers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hope in Bottom-Up Action<\/h2><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If anyone had illusions that billionaires will save us, the second Trump term should categorically dispel them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very clear that you can\u2019t trust anything they say, and you must judge them for what they do,\u201d said Jackson. \u201cWhat they do is deceive, lie, manipulate, obstruct, and align themselves with whatever agenda allows them to make as much money as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Jackson, speaking to <em>Truthout <\/em>from the COP30 conference in Bel\u00e9m, Brazil, expressed hope in the global bottom-up movements for corporate accountability and climate justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe solutions are there,\u201d she said. \u201cThe singular thing we lack is not the technology or money, but the political will to hold corporations accountable for their role in causing the climate crisis and in blocking action to address it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While corporate polluters suggest false remedies and technofixes to our climate crisis, it\u2019s the bottom-up movements across the world that offer real hope with their solutions, <a href=\"https:\/\/demandclimatejustice.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/NOT_ZERO_How_net_zero_targets_disguise_climate_inaction_FINAL.pdf\">including<\/a> an immediate moratorium on all new fossil fuel extraction, ending subsidies for fossil fuel production, implementing climate finance plans based on countries\u2019 fair shares to help developing countries move towards 100 percent renewable energy, and securing land and tenure rights for Indigenous peoples and local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThose solutions are the lasting, proven, meaningful, people-centered solutions led by Indigenous peoples and local communities, led by all of us working together at the local level to global level, to actually end fossil fuels, to decrease emissions, and to transition to renewable energies,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With that in mind, Jackson added, we must focus on taking action and avoid falling into despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf we cower and give into grief and fear,\u201d she said, \u201cwe&#8217;re doing exactly what these corporate executives and the Trump administration want us to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"truth-post-content-after\" id=\"truth-3026542158\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout-- callout--white\" id=\"truth-334871\" data-callout-id=\"334871\" data-callout-theme=\"white\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - After\" data-callout-title=\"2026-01 Main Campaign (FRU) Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.\">\n<div class=\"p-2 text-start\">\n<h5 class=\"pb-2\" style=\"text-transform: uppercase; font-family: var(--bs-font-sans-serif); text-align: center;\">Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.<\/h5>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Progressive nonprofits are the latest target caught in Trump\u2019s crosshairs. With the aim of eliminating political opposition, Trump and his sycophants are working to curb government funding, constrain private foundations, and even cut tax-exempt status from organizations he dislikes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>We\u2019re concerned, because Truthout is not immune to such bad-faith attacks.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can only resist Trump\u2019s attacks by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Truthout has launched a fundraiser to raise $45,000 in the next 8 days. <\/strong>Please take a meaningful action in the fight against authoritarianism: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout. If you have the means, please dig deep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m-0\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"#XEGQPXGY\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Corporate actors have shed any pretense of climate action and now openly back Trump\u2019s doubling down on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":333670,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[91699],"tags":[44389,2211,128420,2238,2718,40260,551,925,801,894],"section":[26,44],"primary_topic":[16],"series":[],"admin_tag":[],"class_list":["post-333602","to4_article_post","type-to4_article_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-analysis","tag-ai","tag-authoritarianism","tag-big-tech","tag-billionaires","tag-climate-crisis","tag-data-centers","tag-donald-trump","tag-fascism","tag-fossil-fuels","tag-wall-street","section-environment-and-health","section-politics-and-elections","primary_topic-environment"],"acf":[],"related_articles":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post\/333602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/to4_article_post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333602"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=333602"},{"taxonomy":"primary_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary_topic?post=333602"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=333602"},{"taxonomy":"admin_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/admin_tag?post=333602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}