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“‘Alliance members have proven that tackling the climate crisis not only benefits them but the nation and the world,’ says Taryn Finnessey, the U.S. Climate Alliance’s acting executive director and policy director.
Member states reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent compared to 12 percent for the rest of the country from 2005 to 2019, she said in a phone interview. They also created more than 130,000 new jobs in the clean energy industry, surpassing the rest of the nation from 2016 to 2019.
During the Trump Administration, when next to nothing was happening in regard to climate change at the federal level, members shared strategies across state lines. They fought the administration’s attempts to weaken federal regulations aimed at curtailing greenhouse gas emissions and direct air pollutants, such as methane, that cause serious respiratory and other health conditions.
The governors focused on developing new state programs to get cleaner and more affordable vehicles on the road, generate more electricity from renewable energy sources, and increase the efficiency of buildings and appliances.”
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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