NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Top corporate executives and labour leaders on Monday issued a public plea for the United States to stay in the global pact to avert catastrophic temperature rises, arguing the battle against climate change would protect the nation's economy and create jobs and businesses.

The group that included the heads of Apple, Tesla, Unilever and Royal Dutch Shell said the Paris Agreement on global warming would boost economic health and build competitive companies, in a statement released as U.N. climate talks started in Madrid.