Donald J. Trump has been ignored by American cities, states and civil society over his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
Less than a week after Trump’s bombshell, Hawaii became the first state to give its support to the Paris agreement. Governor David Ige said:
“Hawaii is committed to environmental stewardship and we look forward to working with other states to fight global climate change.”
Ige also said “climate change is real, regardless of what others may say”, :
“Hawaii is seeing the impact first hand. Tides are getting higher, biodiversity is shrinking, coral is dying, coastlines are eroding, weather is becoming more extreme. We must acknowledge these realities.”
“We are one island, one planet. We cannot mess it up.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Governor Jerry Brown of California signed an agreement with China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This would be seen as an attack by Trump as California is the most progressive state and also has the biggest economy.
Many U.S. mayors have also announced their commitment to achieving the Paris climate goals.
#ActionClimates released a statement: