15 states now defy Trump by upholding the Paris climate accord

The state-based movement to continue meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change following President Trump’s choice to withdraw is making headway. The U.S. Climate Alliance, as the group is called, said Wednesday that it is on track to meet and possibly surpass its portion of the Paris Agreement’s targets of a 24% to 29% reduction in greenhouse gas emission rates from 2005 levels by 2025. The Paris Agreement, which was adopted in 2015 by 195 countries, aims to reduce emissions in order to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. The bipartisan coalition of states was created by three Democratic governors — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, California Gov. Jerry Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee — after President Trump announced in June his plan to withdraw the U.S. from the international accord. North Carolina became the latest and 15th state to join the U.S. Climate Alliance, which also includes Puerto Rico. Additionally, two states with Republican governors, Massachusetts and Vermont, are part of the alliance. “Either we end this problem or this problem will end us,” Cuomo said during a press conference in New York, which was also attended by Brown, Inslee and former Secretary of State John Kerry...more