Op-ed on Climate Change

Since the Trump administration announced last June its intended withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, attention — and hope — has turned to America’s cities and states.

Many local and regional governments actively voiced support for upholding the United States’ pledges under the Paris Agreement. Initiatives that represented those commitments, including the U.S. Climate Alliance, the We Are Still In declaration and America’s Pledge were all active participants at November’s UN climate conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany.

Given these pledges, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres suggested these organizations could, in the end, honour the previous U.S. commitment to the Paris Agreement.

However, optimism aside, the sense remains that American cities and states are no substitute for U.S. national action on climate change. This is especially the case when it comes to the country’s global financial commitments under the Paris Agreement. Read more