Bloomberg gets oil companies, dozens of others to join climate disclosure pact

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg helped kick off the second anniversary of the Paris climate change accord on Tuesday by announcing a new agreement by 237 firms vowing to support the former New York mayor's push to get companies to disclose climate-related financial data.

"Climate change poses both economic risks and opportunities," Bloomberg said in a statement as chairman of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. "But right now, companies don’t have the data they need to accurately measure the risks and evaluate the opportunities."

He said the lack of climate-related financial data "prevents" the private sector from making investments that are both climate friendly and economically viable with strong returns on investment.

Bloomberg's announcement was made to kick off the One Planet Summit in Paris to highlight the need for greater climate-change financing while simultaneously marking the two-year anniversary of the Paris climate deal.

Former President Barack Obama entered the U.S. into the nonbinding agreement on Dec. 12, 2015. President Trump announced June 1, 2017, the U.S. would exit the deal. Bloomberg, nor any of the companies that signed on to his pledge, made any mention of Trump's decision.