Donald Trump may be walking away from the rest of the world’s efforts to combat climate change, but some of the United States are not.
California and Hawaii became the first two states this week to sign agreements to fight climate change a week after Trump announced he would withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement.
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The Paris agreement was a nonbinding accord in which 195 countries promised to cut emissions to stop global warming. The US was already halfway to its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 26% below where they were in 2005 by the year 2025
Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed two laws Tuesday that are based on the Paris agreement and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration, according to Business Insider.
"Our island communities lead the way when it comes to climate change impacts and policies," Ige said. "We also need to be first when it comes to creating solutions.
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California also took a dramatic step toward reestablishing parts of the Paris agreement in the US. Gov. Jerry Brown signed three agreements with China this week calling for collaboration on climate change efforts, according to CNN.
Brown was touring Beijing, where he criticized the decision to withdraw from the climate change fight.
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"Disaster still looms and we've got to make the turn,” Brown said. “There are still people in powerful places who are resisting reality, who are resisting the obvious science that we know governs our lives.”
Both California and Hawaii are part of the US Climate Alliance, the group created last week by governors to put states at the forefront of fighting climate change after Trump abdicated federal authority to do so.
"While the president's actions are a shameful rebuke to the work needed to protect our planet for our children and grandchildren, states have been and will continue to step up," Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement about the new alliance.