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Tim Cook says his era has failed by over-debating climate change

Tim Cook told graduates at Tulane University that his “generation has failed” them by fighting more than making change on issues including immigration, criminal justice and, pointedly, climate change.

FILE - Apple CEO Tim Cook waves while walking off stage at the Steve Jobs Theater after an event to announce new products Monday, March 25, 2019, in Cupertino, Calif.
FILE - Apple CEO Tim Cook waves while walking off stage at the Steve Jobs Theater after an event to announce new products Monday, March 25, 2019, in Cupertino, Calif.Read moreTony Avelar / AP

(Bloomberg) — Tim Cook told graduates at Tulane University that his “generation has failed” them by fighting more than making change on issues including immigration, criminal justice and, pointedly, climate change.

“We’ve been too focused on the fight and not enough on the progress,” the Apple Inc. chief executive said Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. “You don’t need to look far to find an example of that failure.”

He was referring to the Superdome, which sheltered thousands from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He then criticized, without naming, politicians who raise doubts about climate change or its cause, a group that includes President Donald Trump.

“I don’t think we can talk about who we are as a people and what we owe to one another without talking about climate change,” he said.

Cook, 58, said the solution to climate change won’t be found based on whose side wins or loses an election. “It’s about who has won life’s lottery and has the luxury of ignoring this issue and who stands to lose everything,” he said.

“I challenge you to look for those who have the most to lose and find the real, true empathy that comes from something shared,” Cook said. “When you do that, the political noise dies down.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at hwaller@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Ian Fisher, Virginia Van Natta

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.