They have pledged to carry out the landmark accord on behalf of America We asked environmental experts for the most effective and politically practical ways they can help do that.
By Natallie Delgadillo | Governing
(Editor’s note: Pima County and Phoenix have pledged to uphold terms of the Paris Accord.)
arly this month, President Trump formally announced his intention to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, angering environmentalists across the globe. But within hours, a slew of governors, mayors and companies pledged to uphold the landmark deal’s mission. The governors of California, New York and Washington state — which represent 10 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions — created the United States Climate Alliance, which at last count had grown to include 12 states and Puerto Rico.
At the city level, 323 mayors formed a similar alliance called Climate Mayors, which is dedicated to bringing down emissions. At the same time, Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York and the current U.N. secretary-general’s special envoy for cities and climate change, assembled a group called America’s Pledge, made up of mayors, governors, university presidents and companies. Bloomberg told The New York Times that “we’re going to do everything America would have done if it had stayed committed [to the Paris accord].”
