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“The U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of governors committed to the goals of the Paris agreement, is sending a letter to congressional leadership today calling for the swift passage of the climate and clean energy investments in President Biden’s stalled budget reconciliation bill.
The group of 22 governors, which is composed of 21 Democrats and Republican Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont, writes in the letter that state action alone is not enough to head off the effects of global warming or to reach the nation’s net-zero goals. Instead, the leaders argue that Congress must pass a robust climate package to back up their efforts.
‘We need major investment from Congress commensurate with the crisis we all face and the rapid transition we must all make,’ the officials write in the letter, led by Democratic Govs. Jay Inslee of Washington, Gavin Newsom of California and Kathy Hochul of New York. ‘The U.S. House of Representatives previously approved a transformative $550 billion climate package for this purpose, and it is critical that any climate package include a similar level of funding.’”
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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