United States Climate Alliance

The United States Climate Alliance is a bipartisan coalition of states and unincorporated self-governing territories in the United States that are committed to upholding the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change within their borders, by achieving the U.S. goal of reducing greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide equivalent) economy-wide emissions 26–28% from 2005 levels by 2025[14] and meeting or exceeding the targets of the federal Clean Power Plan.

For the European climate organization, see Climate Alliance.

United States Climate Alliance
  United States Climate Alliance
TypeSubnational coalition (not legally binding)
Membership
23 states
3 territories
Leaders
• Co-chair
Washington (state) Jay Inslee
• Co-chair
Maine Janet Mills
• Co-chair elect
New York (state) Kathy Hochul
• Co-chair elect
New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham
EstablishmentJune 1, 2017
Population
• 2022 estimate
179,618,352[4][5][6][7][8] (8th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
$11.516 trillion[9][10][11][12][8] (4th)
• Per capita
$64,115 (10th)
Website
USClimateAlliance.org[13]

The Alliance was formed on June 1, 2017, following the announcement earlier that day by U.S. President Donald Trump that he had decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. The Alliance also forms a forum for its members to further develop and strengthen their existing Climate Action Plans, through sharing of information and best practices.

As of June 5, 2023, the 25 members of the Alliance at the time made up 53.64% of the U.S. population and over 50% of U.S. GDP.[4][5][6][7][9][10][11][12][8] After excluding Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa figures from the emission total, the 2023 members' combined share of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions was 42.31% in 2020.[15][8]

History

Prior the founding of the alliance, 12 states led by Democratic governors signed a petition urging the president of the United States to stay in the Paris Agreement on May 3. A similar petition was signed by 2 states led by Republican governors on May 17.[16]

The Alliance was formed on June 1, 2017, following the announcement earlier that day by U.S. President Donald Trump that he had decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. The formation of the Alliance was announced by three state governors: Jay Inslee of Washington, Andrew Cuomo of New York, and Jerry Brown of California. The Alliance is not a legally binding treaty, but a grouping of state governments with similar policies regarding climate change.[17]

The founding press statement was released in three versions on June 1, which all stated that: "New York, California and Washington, representing over one-fifth of U.S. Gross Domestic Product, are committed to achieving the U.S. goal of reducing emissions 26–28 percent from 2005 levels and meeting or exceeding the targets of the federal Clean Power Plan."[17][18][19] The governors of the three founding states are members of the Democratic Party, although the alliance itself is founded as a bipartisan coalition also open for membership of states governed by members of the Republican Party.

By the evening of June 1, the state governors of seven other U.S. states (Connecticut, Hawaii, Oregon, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia) announced their intention to maintain their states' support for the Paris Agreement, though not necessarily as part of the Alliance. All those seven states expressing Paris agreement support on June 1, opted to become members of the Alliance within the next four days. Nearly 70% of Americans, including a majority of people in all 50 states, support the Paris Agreement on climate change.[20]

On June 2, Governor Dan Malloy announced that Connecticut would join the Alliance.[21] On the same day, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker became the first Republican governor to bring his state into the Alliance.[22] Governor Phil Scott of Vermont, another Republican, said his state would join.[23] Governor Gina Raimondo said Rhode Island would also join.[24] Governor Kate Brown said Oregon would join.[25] Governor David Ige of Hawaii announced that Hawaii would also join, making them the 9th state in the Alliance.[26]

On June 5, Democratic Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Virginia would join the Alliance.[27] Governor Mark Dayton of Minnesota, Governor John Carney of Delaware, and Governor Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico joined the Alliance on June 5.[28] On July 11, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced that Colorado would join the Alliance, bringing the total number of members to 14 (thirteen states and Puerto Rico.)[29][30]

On July 13, the alliance's official website was launched.[13] As of the launch of the website, the members of the alliance comprised 13 out of the 14 states having signed a petition urging the president of the United States to stay in the Paris Agreement in May 2017 (only Pennsylvania had opted not to join).

On September 20, North Carolina governor Roy Cooper announced that his state would join the Alliance, bringing the total number of state members to 14.[31] On January 10, 2018, Maryland governor Larry Hogan made his state the third Republican-led state to join the Alliance, bringing the total number of state members to 15.[32] On February 21, 2018, newly elected New Jersey governor Phil Murphy announced that his state was joining the Alliance, bringing the total number of state members to 16.[33]

In January 2019, Governors J. B. Pritzker of Illinois and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico announced that their states would join the Alliance, bringing the total number of state members to 18.[34][35][36]

In February 2019, Governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tony Evers of Wisconsin and Janet Mills of Maine announced that their states would join the Alliance, bringing the total number of state members to 21.[37][38]

In March 2019, Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada announced that his state would join the Alliance, bringing the total number of state members to 22.[39] In April 2019, Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania announced that his state would join the Alliance as well, bringing the total number of state members to 23.[40] In July 2019, Governor Steve Bullock of Montana announced that his state would join the Alliance, bringing the total number of state members to 24.[41]

In the years since 2019, the elections of Greg Gianforte to Governor of Montana in 2020[42] and Glenn Youngkin to Governor of Virginia in 2021 led to their states leaving the Alliance; meanwhile, John Bel Edwards, who has been serving as Governor of Louisiana since 2016, joined on May 7, 2021, as did Governor of Guam Lou Leon Guerrero on February 20, 2023, bringing the total number of Alliance jurisdictions to 25.[1][2][3] Arizona joined the alliance on July 17, 2023.[43]

Membership
State/territory Governor Joined CO2 emissions from fuel use and energy production in 1990, 2005 and 2014
(million metric tons)[15]		 CO2 emissions per capita in 2015[44]
(metric tons)
 California Gavin Newsom   D June 1,
2017[18]		 363.8 389.4 358.0 9.3
 New York Kathy Hochul   D June 1,
2017[19]		 208.9 211.6 169.7 8.5
 Washington Jay Inslee   D June 1,
2017[17]		 70.9 78.5 73.4 10.6
 Connecticut Ned Lamont   D June 2,
2017[21]		 40.9 44.1 35.1 10.2
 Rhode Island Dan McKee   D June 2,
2017[24]		 8.9 11.2 10.6 10.1
 Massachusetts Maura Healey   D June 2,
2017[22]		 83.7 84.5 63.8 9.7
 Vermont Phil Scott   R June 2,
2017[23]		 5.5 6.8 5.9 9.4
 Oregon Tina Kotek   D June 2,
2017[25]		 30.8 41.1 38.0 9.6
 Hawaii Josh Green   D June 2,
2017[26]		 21.7 23.0 18.4 13.0
 Virginia Glenn Youngkin   R June 5,
2017[27](left)		 95.3 129.2 104.0 12.5
 Minnesota Tim Walz   DFL June 5,
2017[28]		 78.9 101.9 94.9 16.0
 Delaware John Carney   D June 5,
2017[28]		 17.6 17.4 13.3 14.2
 Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi   PNP June 5,
2017[28]		 20.5 37.4 28.3 7.9[15][4]
 Colorado Jared Polis   D July 11,
2017[29]		 65.2 95.4 91.6 16.6
 North Carolina Roy Cooper   D September 20,
2017[31]		 111.4 154.0 126.8 12.0
 American Samoa Peleti Mauga   D October 11,
2017[45]
 Maryland Wes Moore   D January 10,
2018[32]		 70.3 83.5 61.5 9.9
 New Jersey Phil Murphy   D February 21,
2018[33]		 110 131 114 12.5
 Illinois J. B. Pritzker   D January 23,
2019[46]		 193 246 235 17.1
 New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham   D January 29,
2019[36]
 Michigan Gretchen Whitmer   D February 4,
2019[47]
 Wisconsin Tony Evers   D February 12,
2019[48]
 Maine Janet Mills   D February 28,
2019[49]
 Nevada Joe Lombardo   R March 12,
2019[50]
 Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro   D April 29,
2019[40]
 Montana Greg Gianforte   R July 1,
2019[51] (left)[42]
 Louisiana John Bel Edwards   D May 7,
2021[1][2]
 Guam Lou Leon Guerrero   D February 20,
2023[3]
 Arizona Katie Hobbs   D July 11,
2023[52]

See also

References
  1. "GOVERNORS". U.S. Climate Alliance. September 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  2. "Gov. Edwards Joins Bipartisan U.S. Climate Alliance, Commits to Addressing Climate Change at the State Level". Office of the Governor of Louisiana. May 7, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  3. Andrea Murer (February 20, 2023). "Governor Advances Guam's Position to Address Climate Crisis - Governor of Guam". Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  4. "data.census.gov". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  5. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Puerto Rico". Census Bureau QuickFacts. July 1, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  6. "World Bank Open Data". World Bank Open Data. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  7. "2020 Island Areas Censuses Data Now Available for American Samoa". Census.gov. October 21, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  8. "Factsheet: Further. Faster. Together" (PDF). U.S. Climate Alliance. September 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  9. "GDP by State". Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  10. "GDP for Puerto Rico". U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). July 26, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  11. "GDP for Guam". U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). November 2, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  12. "GDP for American Samoa". U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). September 1, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  13. "United States Climate Alliance Launches Website to Inform Americans on State Actions to Address Climate Change". Governor of New York. July 13, 2017. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  14. "U.S.A. First NDC Submission" (PDF). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). September 3, 2016.
  15. For state emissions, see "State Carbon Dioxide Emissions". www.EIA.gov. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Retrieved June 5, 2023.
    For Puerto Rico emissions, see "Puerto Rico: Total Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Consumption of Energy". The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  16. "Massachusetts and Vermont Call on Trump Administration to Stay in Paris Agreement". GeorgeTown Climate Center. May 17, 2017.
  17. "Inslee, New York Governor Cuomo, and California Governor Brown announce formation of United States Climate Alliance | Governor Jay Inslee". governor.wa.gov. June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  18. "CA Governor Brown, NY Governor Cuomo and WA Governor Inslee Announce Formation of U.S. Climate Alliance". Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  19. "New York Governor Cuomo, California Governor Brown, and Washington Governor Inslee Announce Formation of United States Climate Alliance". www.governor.ny.gov. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  20. Wilts, Alexandra (June 1, 2017). "Majority of Americans in every US state supports Paris climate deal Trump is poised to withdraw from". The Independent. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
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  22. Murphy, Matt (June 2, 2017). "Gov. Baker Enters Mass. Into Multi-State Climate Alliance After U.S. Withdraws From Paris Agreement". WBUR. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
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  24. "Rhode Island to Join States in Paris Climate Agreement Pact". US News. Associated Press. June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
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  26. "GOVERNOR'S OFFICE NEWS RELEASE: Governor joins U.S. Climate Alliance, will sign bill aligned with Paris agreement". governor.hawaii.gov. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  27. Newsroom, WHSV. "Gov. McAuliffe announces Virginia's joining of U.S. Climate Alliance". Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  28. "United States Climate Alliance adds 10 new members to coalition committed to upholding the Paris Accord". governor.wa.gov. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  29. "Colorado signs on to U.S. Climate Alliance, joining states committed to exceeding Trump's rejected Paris climate targets". The Denver Post. July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  30. "Colorado commits to state climate action". Governor of Colorado. July 11, 2017. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  31. "North Carolina Joins 14 States in Bipartisan U.S. Climate Alliance". Raleigh: Governor of North Carolina. September 20, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  32. "Maryland will join alliance of states supporting Paris climate agreement, Hogan says". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  33. Cerqueira, Julie (February 22, 2018). "New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  34. "Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  35. "Illinois joins U.S. Climate Alliance". WEEK. January 23, 2019. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  36. "New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  37. "Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  38. "Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
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  40. "Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  41. "Montana Governor Steve Bullock Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. July 1, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  42. Mott, Nick (July 9, 2021). "Gianforte Withdraws Montana From Multi-State Climate Coalition". Montana Public Radio. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  43. https://www.edf.org/media/governor-hobbs-commits-climate-targets-taking-critical-first-step-secure-stronger-future
  44. "Table 5. Per capita energy-related carbon dioxide emissions by state (2000-2014)" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). January 2017.
  45. "Am Samoa joins US Alliance on Climate Change". October 11, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  46. Briscoe, Tony. "Gov. J.B. Pritzker commits Illinois to climate change fight as study shows extreme weather convincing more people". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
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  48. "Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. February 12, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  49. "Maine Governor Janet Mills Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  50. "Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  51. "Montana Governor Steve Bullock Joins U.S. Climate Alliance". U.S. Climate Alliance. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
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