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“Trump withdrew from the treaty in November 2020 after promising to do so since June 2017 — a decision that Biden then reversed during the first days of his presidency.
But in the intervening period, states formed the U.S. Climate Alliance, which Sanchez described as an effort to ascertain whether subnational entities could ‘still uphold the American commitment to the Paris Agreement.’
‘That was really meaningful for the global community as it related to messaging,’ she said.
This campaign showed ‘that America was still very committed to climate action, despite what our national government’s posture was,’ according to Sanchez.
She cited similar such efforts during the administrations of Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, and of Australia’s former prime minister, Scott Morrison.
‘There’s a lot of good precedent for — despite the change in national governments — making sure we’re able to account for formalize and advance the subnational commitments to climate action,’ Sanchez added.”
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 collective greenhouse gas emissions by 19%, Alliance members increased their collective GDP by 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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