California Senate President Toni Atkins vowed Monday that California will remain committed to the Paris climate agreement despite the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw.
The administration on Monday began a year-long process of withdrawing the United States from the landmark agreement signed in 2015 under President Obama.
Vice President Mike Pence said the global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is an “unfair economic burden imposed on American workers, businesses, and taxpayers.”
But Atkins, who represents the San Diego area in the state Senate, called the action “disheartening” and said it amounts to backing away from a global effort to keep the planet healthy.
“From raging wildfires to sea level rise along our California coastline, climate change is an undeniable reality, and it is extremely disheartening that the federal administration has decided to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement,” she said in a statement. “Here in California — which will participate in the 2020 UN Climate Change Conference in Scotland — we believe in the tenets of that pact, and remain committed to our goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing renewable energy sources.”
“Climate change threatens everything from the air we breathe to our military assets — we can’t, and we won’t, back away from the kinds of improvements and policies that will keep our planet, and our communities, healthy,” she added.
Many in the Trump administration do not believe the Earth’s climate is changing, or that human activity has any influence on climate. The administration has championed the burning of coal, and has sought to roll back pollution standards for cars.
