Home / Living on Earth: Climate Action Winner in the Golden State
Senior Climate Advisor to California Governor Newsom, Lauren Sanchez: “I’d also point to, Steve, the US Climate Alliance, a group of 24 bipartisan governors who came together during the Trump administration, really to fight back against everything the federal government was doing. Now, we’re in an exciting, I would say, discussion around, depending on how Congress shakes out in the next few weeks, we know that states are going to continue to play a really important role in ensuring we move forward as a nation despite what is happening in DC. The governor co-chairs that alliance and will continue to play an important leadership role.”
Launched on June 1, 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28% by 2025, 50-52% by 2030, and 61-66% by 2035, all below 2005 levels, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to demonstrate that climate action goes hand-in-hand with economic growth, job creation, and better public health. The Alliance reduced its collective net greenhouse gas emissions by 19% between 2005 and 2022, while increasing collective GDP by 30%, and is on track to meet its near-term climate goal by reducing collective GHG emissions 26% below 2005 levels by 2025. The coalition’s states and territories are employing more workers in the clean energy sector, achieving lower levels of dangerous air pollutants, and preparing more effectively for climate impacts and executing more pre-disaster planning than the rest of the country.
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