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

Tim Cook told graduates at Tulane University in the US 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 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 criticised, without naming, politicians who raise doubts about climate change or its cause, a group that includes President Donald Trump.

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"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."