San Francisco, April 2

US tech giants Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon expressed support on Friday for President Barack Obama’s programme to fight climate change, which was put on hold in February by the US Supreme Court.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s ‘Clean Power Plan’ calls for a 32 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by electric power plants by 2030 from 2005 levels.

A group of 25 US states, most of them led by Republican governors, challenged the programme before the Supreme Court which by a five-to-four vote put it on hold until an appeals court can rule on the arguments.

On Friday, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon filed a brief with DC Circuit court in support of the programme, noting that collectively they are among biggest US consumers of electricity.

The administration’s plan ‘will help address climate change by reinforcing current trends that are making renewable energy supplies more robust, more reliable and more affordable’, the brief said.

The tech giants noted their own efforts to limit impact of their activities on the environment, in particular by turning toward renewable energy sources for their power needs. They said the programme would help them ‘power their operations in ways consistent with their environmental commitments and business needs’.

“With the plan in place, growth in renewable energy will continue, as electricity generators and sellers will have even more reasons to work with significant purchasers ... to develop new approaches that support renewable energy,” it said.