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“This is what makes Earth Day so important today. It highlights the policies and investments that will slash greenhouse gas emissions, produce renewable energy, clean the air in our most polluted communities, protect forests and wildlife, and stem the tide of climate change.
Washington state is a national and global leader in all these facets.
Earth Day has been rooted in Washington state since its founding in 1970, with Washingtonian Denis Hayes serving as its first national coordinator. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is a co-founder of the bipartisan state-led U.S. Climate Alliance, the international Ocean Acidification Alliance, and other groups led by states, provinces and cities taking action on climate even when national governments are slow to act.”
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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