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The United States Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 17 governors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement, today issued the following statement on the effort announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to attack the federal emission and fuel economy standards:
“The United States needs strong clean car standards that reduce vehicle pollution and improve efficiency to protect our health, environment and climate, while strengthening U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and creating American jobs. We oppose efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to weaken the nation’s clean car standards, and we strongly support the 18 jurisdictions representing 140 million Americans that are suing to defend these standards. We also support preserving State flexibility to adopt standards more protective than federal standards.
Weakening the nation’s clean car standards will not only cost Americans more at the pump, but hurt children, senior citizens and people living with respiratory illness, and will impede the ability of our states to meet our own emission reduction targets. The Alliance will hold strong to our commitment and state leadership to meet our share of the U.S. emissions reduction contribution to the Paris Agreement.”
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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