The United States Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 17 governors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement, today issued the following statement on the effort announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to attack the federal emission and fuel economy standards:
“The United States needs strong clean car standards that reduce vehicle pollution and improve efficiency to protect our health, environment and climate, while strengthening U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and creating American jobs. We oppose efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to weaken the nation’s clean car standards, and we strongly support the 18 jurisdictions representing 140 million Americans that are suing to defend these standards. We also support preserving State flexibility to adopt standards more protective than federal standards.
Weakening the nation’s clean car standards will not only cost Americans more at the pump, but hurt children, senior citizens and people living with respiratory illness, and will impede the ability of our states to meet our own emission reduction targets. The Alliance will hold strong to our commitment and state leadership to meet our share of the U.S. emissions reduction contribution to the Paris Agreement.”
Launched in 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the U.S. federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28 percent by 2025, 50-52 percent by 2030, and 61-66 percent by 2035, all below 2005 levels, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to advance innovative and impactful climate solutions to grow the economy, create jobs, and protect public health, and have a long record of action and results. In fact, the latest data shows that as of 2023, the Alliance has reduced its collective net greenhouse gas emissions by 24 percent below 2005 levels, while increasing collective GDP by 34 percent, and is on track to meet its near-term climate goal of reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
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