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“States work closely with environmental policy — the Environmental Protection Agency tasks them with implementing new regulations that roll down. But they’re about to take on a new, critical role in guarding their resources, said Kim Coble, co-chair of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change.
‘There’s no doubt that things shifted dramatically,’ she said, referring to the presidential election. ‘States are the safety net to ensuring that our country continues to make progress over the next four years.’
Several states this year preserved key environmental programs in the voting booth. Washington state residents voted to keep the state’s carbon-slashing cap-and-invest program; Minnesota voters extended a program aimed at protecting air, water, and wildlife; and Wisconsin rejected a bid to limit governors’ ability to spend federal dollars, including climate dollars.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) also called a special session to begin Dec. 2 to shore up state policies before Trump takes office.
‘Governors filled the void of leadership during President-elect Trump’s first term, and Americans can be assured we’re prepared to fill it again,’ New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in the US Climate Alliance statement.”
Launched on June 1, 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the previous administration’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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