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Governors Andrew Cuomo (NY), Jay Inslee (WA) and Gavin Newsom (CA), who serve as co-chairs of the bipartisan United States Climate Alliance, today issued the following statement in response to the Administration’s attempt to revoke the waiver that allows states to set more stringent emissions standards. On July 9th, members of the U.S. Climate Alliance issued a statement announcing an effort to work together to support a strong national standard through the “Nation’s Clean Car Promise”.
As co-chairs of the U.S. Climate Alliance — a bipartisan coalition of 25 governors committed to addressing climate change — we strongly oppose today’s announcement by the Administration attempting to revoke the rights we have held for 40 years under the Clean Air Act to protect our residents from vehicle pollution. This will impact not only California, but also the freedom of all states to choose how they protect their own communities from harmful pollution.
This action undermines one of the country’s best climate and clean air programs and constitutes an attack on consumers, our environment, and our health. It will increase air pollution, cost our residents more at the pump, and limit the ability of Alliance states to meet their own emission reduction targets and take crucial climate action.
We will continue to defend our rights, and call on non-Alliance states, car makers, the health community, and others to work with us to uphold the economic, environmental and public health benefits of cleaner cars.
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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