Letter says the publicly traded companies risk violating federal law and undercutting U.S. policy by attending the U.N. climate conference in Turkey
SCHAUMBURG, IL (November 10, 2026) — Six free-market organizations, including The Heartland Institute, sent a letter to President Trump on November 8 supporting his decision to withdraw from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). But the letter also urges Trump to ensure that U.S. companies attending the UN climate conference do not violate the law or undercut U.S. policy.
The letter notes that Amazon, Apple, and Google are attending COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20, 2026. The signers say that because these companies are publicly traded and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, federal law and SEC regulations prohibit them from making false and misleading statements, and that misleading climate claims at COP31 would also undermine U.S. energy policy and national security.
The letter cites a U.N. Environment Programme official who recently told the Associated Press that the Trump administration’s energy policy would likely add one-tenth of a degree Celsius to average global temperature by 2100. The signers call that amount unmeasurable and say the three companies’ emissions are far smaller than total U.S. emissions. They also note that the companies do significant business with the federal government and ask the President to remind them and other U.S. companies of their legal obligations to be truthful and of their contractual and moral duties not to undermine national security.
The letter was signed by:
• American Energy Institute
• Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)
• Energy & Environment Legal Institute
• Heartland Impact
• The Heartland Institute
• Truth in Energy and Climate
The following statement by Heartland Institute President and CEO James Taylor may be used for attribution. To arrange interviews, reply to this email or contact VP & Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] or call/text 312-731-9364.
“Large corporations have no business getting in bed with UN climate governance. Large corporations getting in bed with government is the same tactic that was used to suppress Americans’ freedoms under the excuses of COVID and fighting ‘misinformation.’ Political decisions are purely the role of our duly elected federal and state governments, and only to the extent delineated under the Constitution. Netflix and other giant corporations, get the heck out of the climate totalitarianism business.”
James Taylor
President & CEO
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
The Heartland Institute is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our website or call 312/377-4000.
