This story is part of the GRIT package, which studies how it re -re -100 days in his position, climate and environmental policy in the United States
The United States has never cared about a lot of climate change, at least at the federal level. Even the law to reduce inflation in the Biden Administration, or the Irish Republican Army – which handed over billions of dollars to people to cancel their homes, pumped other billions into a clean energy economy – neither Congress nor the executive branch of the climate policy was really meaningful, given the size of the crisis.
After carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, it decreased 6 billion annually In 2000 to less than 5 billion today. So the country can largely Thanks its states and citiesAnd that began in ambitious campaigns, among other things, Electrical transportationhiring Car pollution standardsAnd motivation Spreading renewable energy. At the same time, Wind and solar energy is now cheaper To build the new fossil fuel infrastructure, and There is a little Trump that he can do To prevent these market forces from reducing emissions.
Accordingly, Trump put his attention on countries during the first 100 days of his administration. He tried to kill crowding in New York City, although the Ministry of Justice last week I mistakenly raised a document Determining legal defects with the management plan. On April 8, he signed Executive The Prosecutor Pam Bondi directed me to meIt protects and stops any laws of the state climate It is considered illegal, including the maximum and leading trade program in California. This guidance, though, may be illegal because the constitution guarantees states a wide authority to the age of their own laws, legal Tell the experts GRIST. “This is the world that the Trump administration wants to live your children,” said California Governor Gavin News in A. statement. “California will not come out to reduce harmful pollution through a glorious press release that denies an executive.”
In an obese way Countries do their own things And cooperation with each other. If the country has established a large ruling body for years – something like the Environmental Protection Agency, but it focused exclusively on climate change – the Trump administration It can be easily disassembled.
“Since the elections, the countries have been keeping power, ability, and ambition to reduce pollution and maintain America on the right track to achieve their goals,” said Casey Katim, CEO of the American Climate Alliance, an alliance of 24 ruler (one of them a republic). “This is an indication that the president and this administration know that all of this is true.”
This is not the first climate movement struggle with an anti -action administration. The American Climate Alliance and America are present in everything-a coalition that includes thousands of leaders of politicians, cultural and commercials-both of which were formed after Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement in 2017. countries are now sharing information regularly with each other, such as the best ways to encourage building-saving buildings and replace gas ovens with electric pumps. They too Cooperation to update their networks To meet the additional demand that comes with a large -scale electricity.
“We have not only been allowed to build relationships and confidence to be a truly alliance, but allows us to move faster together in our climate work,” said Amanda Hansen, Deputy Minister of Climate Change at the California Natural Resources Agency. “The coalitions that met very quickly in response to the first Trump administration are now much larger and more capable, and have really strong foundations for real cooperation.”
While California and other states will have to wait and know the climate policies that Bondi considers illegal, it is already fighting on other fronts in court. When the Trump administration freezed nearly 3 trillion dollars in federal aid funds in January, including those provided by the Irish Republican Army and the two -party infrastructure law, 23 lawyers (including those in Vermont and the Republicans led the Republicans), and a judge Money order that was issued.
The exchange of these types of funds is not optional – it is required, because Congress approved legislation allocated. To stop the flow of money, Congress will change the laws. “It costs taxpayers millions of dollars to address these lawsuits for the funds approved by Congress, which were decisive to address the climate crisis,” said Gillian Blanchard, Vice President of Climate Change and Environmental Justice in the lawyers of the Taibah government, an alliance of 125,000 lawyers, students, student, students, student and students.
Other organizations and non -profit organizations also join litigation. For example, lawyers worked for a good government with the Center for Southern Environmental Law, Who sues management To issue federal funds aimed at investing, among other things, affordable housing is the cost of energy efficiency. “This administration appears to be just a banking on the fact that they do not need to follow the law even and what no one has received,” said Blancard. “This is really an unfortunate case of the United States of America.”
Even with uncertainty, progressive climate policies multiply. For example, the Legislative Board of Washington recently approved an update of the clean fuel standards that Discount emissions can double From transportation, the largest source of carbon emissions in the state. “We really need to continue to drive on this front,” said Leah Missik, representative director of Washington at Climate Solutions. “The countries have always been the incubators to work the important climate policy.” State voters in the past fall A surprisingly rejected an attempt to cancel a historic law This limits emissions and collects money from polluted to install energy -saving heat pumps, electrical phrases, and put solar panels on public buildings.
Ultimately, climate work is increasingly popular with voters. A spokesman for the governor JB Pritzker from Illinois He referred to the voting This indicates that 65 percent of people in the state are concerned about climate change and support for 70 percent of the entire transition to clean energy by 2050: “voters are smart,” said a spokesman for the Trump administration. Enjoy its causes. ”
Kate Yarr has contributed to reporting this story.
