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“Maine’s governor has been elected co-chairwoman of the U.S. Climate Alliance.
Gov. Janet Mills on Friday became the first governor from a non-founding member state to lead the organization. The U.S. Climate Alliance, according to a release, is a coalition comprised of 25 bipartisan governors who are battling climate change.
Mills shares chairmanship with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee by the group’s membership in Washington, D.C., according to a release.
‘Shortly after being elected governor, I declared that ‘Maine Won’t Wait’ to address climate change,’ Mills said in a statement. ‘Over the past four years, we have made significant progress in embracing clean energy, transitioning to climate-friendly technologies that strengthen our economy, and making our state and our people more resilient to the impacts of climate change.’”
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 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, at least 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030, 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. While reducing emissions by 18% between 2005 and 2021, Alliance members grew their collective GDP by nearly 30%. 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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