States Across the Country Have Banded Together to Combat Trump's Climate Change Ignorance

In response to Donald Trump's decision to withdraw America from the Paris Climate Agreement and gut federal regulations meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 24 states and Puerto Rico have now joined the Climate Action Alliance. The Alliance is a bipartisan coalition of governors that have promised to meet the original carbon emission reduction goals created as the result of the Paris agreement. Most, but not all, are "blue" states with Democratic governors and legislatures.

Member states have committed to the following goals:

1. Implement policies that advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025

2. Track and report progress to the global community in appropriate settings, including when the world convenes to take stock of the Paris Agreement, and

3. Accelerate new and existing policies to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean energy deployment at the state and federal level.

It's rare in US history to see state governments taking the lead to address an environmental problem; generally that has been the role of the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. But after President Trump stocked the EPA with coal lobbyists and climate change deniers, these states have filled the void to move the nation toward a more sustainable energy future.

The 25 Alliance members account for about 42% of US carbon emissions, but some experts say that won't be enough to get the job done.

Business Insider: "Leah Stokes, an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, said that while state efforts are making an impact, action at the federal level will be required if we want to cut carbon emissions in half and avoid catastrophic warming in the next decade."

That may be true, but these governors feel that doing nothing in the face of an impending crisis would be irresponsible. They are crafting innovative sustainable energy policies that could be adopted nationwide to help a future president to address the problem more quickly and efficiently.

Business Insider has a list of each state's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions here, and the Climate Alliance website tracks their work here.

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By: Don Lam & Curated Content