- In The News
- December 2023
The Hill: States Keep Proving That Climate Action Works
December 27, 2023
Alli Gold Roberts, senior director of state policy at Ceres, writes how Alliance states are proving that robust climate policy works.
Opinion piece by: Alli Gold Roberts, Senior Director of State Policy, Ceres
“According to the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 25 governors committed to reducing the pollution that is dangerously warming the planet, those states are collectively on track to hit their 2025 climate goals — a 26 percent reduction in pollution from its peak in 2005.
There’s still a long way to go, but these states are proving that robust climate policy works. What’s more, they aren’t making any economic sacrifices. In fact, they are achieving much of their policy success with the strong backing of the business community, as companies and investors increasingly realize that climate change is a major risk to their operations and that its solutions present vast economic opportunities.
State policymakers aren’t slowing down. As crucial federal policies and growing ambition in the private sector unleash a surge in clean energy investment across the country, states took strong action in 2023 to further seize this opportunity.”
About the Alliance
Launched in 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the U.S. federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28 percent by 2025, 50-52 percent by 2030, and 61-66 percent 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 advance innovative and impactful climate solutions to grow the economy, create jobs, and protect public health, and have a long record of action and results. In fact, the latest data shows that as of 2023, the Alliance has reduced its collective net greenhouse gas emissions by 24 percent below 2005 levels, while increasing collective GDP by 34 percent, and is on track to meet its near-term climate goal of reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
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