The governors of New York, California and Washington state formed a coalition to fight global warming in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.
The United States Climate Alliance will push to cut greenhouse gases and lead a state-level initiative to support the global agreement that the president has derided as harmful to U.S. interests, governors Andrew Cuomo, Jerry Brown and Jay Inslee, all Democrats, said in a statement Thursday. The three states represent more than 20 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.
The push reflects growing U.S. efforts at the state level for initiatives aimed at fighting climate change, as the White House moves in the opposite direction. That local support come from policies that will be difficult the Trump administration to change and will continue to drive demand for clean energy in the U.S.
“The White House’s reckless decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement has devastating repercussions not only for the United States, but for our planet,” Cuomo said in the statement. ‘‘We will not ignore the science and reality of climate change.”
Utilities are also criticizing Trump’s move.
“Today’s decision deepens our resolve on getting the policies right in California,” Melissa Lavinson, vice president for federal affairs at PG&E Corp., owner of California’s largest utility, said by phone Thursday. “Even without regulation of carbon, even without the Clean Power Plan, you’ve seen the industry transition its generation fleet.”