WRI Responds to the Appointment of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State

The World Resources Institute (WRI) issued a statement regarding the appointment of Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, as U.S. Secretary of State, emphasizing the need for him to commit to the Paris Agreement and U.S. leadership on climate action.

• WRI President & CEO Dr. Andrew Steer asserts that Rex Tillerson must demonstrate a commitment to U.S. leadership on climate action and full support for the Paris Agreement during his confirmation hearings, noting that over 70 percent of Americans support participation in the Agreement.
• WRI warns that if the United States withdraws from the Paris Agreement, it would lose international goodwill and cede leadership in green technologies and jobs to China and other nations.
• While ExxonMobil has recently acknowledged the link between greenhouse gases and climate change and called the Paris Agreement "an important step forward," WRI notes the company has a history of opposing action to slow climate change.

APA

Steer, A. (2016). WRI Responds to the Appointment of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/news/statement-wri-responds-appointment-rex-tillerson-secretary-state

Chicago

Steer, Andrew. WRI Responds to the Appointment of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. World Resources Institute, 2016. https://www.wri.org/news/statement-wri-responds-appointment-rex-tillerson-secretary-state.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Steer |first1=Andrew |title=WRI Responds to the Appointment of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=13 December 2016 |url=https://www.wri.org/news/statement-wri-responds-appointment-rex-tillerson-secretary-state |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{steer2016wri, author = {Steer, Andrew}, title = {{WRI Responds to the Appointment of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/news/statement-wri-responds-appointment-rex-tillerson-secretary-state}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }