To the U.N., they are “subnationals” — states and provinces that have committed to climate action more dramatic than the nations of which they are parts.
But speaking at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) on Monday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the leaders of the 68 states and provinces who met Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland, are calling themselves “supernationals.”
“It’s states and provinces around the world that are advancing this cause that is more ambitious than our nation states, faster than our nation states, more comprehensive than our nation states and more flexible than our nation states,” Inslee said. “So, whatever comes out of the COP, we will beat.”
Inslee was one of four U.S. governors speaking at a press conference to highlight the work of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan group of governors from 24 states and Puerto Rico, many of whom have committed to net-zero carbon emissions or similar deep cuts by 2050. He was joined by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Hawaii Gov. David Ige of and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, all Democrats.
Climate Alliance Accomplishments
On Sunday, the Climate Alliance released a summary of the actions its members have taken since the group was formed in 2017 to counter President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The alliance represents 62% of U.S. GDP, 56% of the U.S. population and 43% of U.S. emissions.
The alliance has identified eight priority policy areas: power; buildings; industry; transportation; just transition and equity; resilience; natural and working lands; and the social cost of greenhouse gases.
Of its 25 members, all but a handful have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, renewable portfolio standards, electric utility energy efficiency standards, resilience or adaptation plans, and 100% clean electricity goals.
In contrast, fewer than 10 have taken action on addressing methane from oil and gas, landfill, and agricultural sources or clean-truck standards. Only two, Washington and Colorado, have acted on building performance standards, and only five (California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington and Oregon) have moved on addressing emissions from industrial sources.
California has adopted all but one of 22 major actions highlighted by the alliance, followed closely by Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, New York, Rhode Island and Washington.
The group noted that several states have committed to 100% net-zero operating emissions for new construction beginning in 2030; 100% zero-emission new light-duty vehicle sales by 2035; implementation of a low-carbon fuel standard and conserving at least 30% of land and coastal waters by 2030.
“The climate threat knows no borders, and when we share solutions and expertise — not just with one another in the alliance, but also with other like-minded subnational leaders around the world — we can truly turn the tide,” said Taryn Finnessey, the alliance’s acting executive director and policy director.
Washington: Cap and Invest
At Monday’s press conference, Inslee highlighted Washington’s cap-and-invest program, which he signed into law in May. (See Wash. Cap-and-trade, LCFS Tied to Transportation Package.) The program, to be launched by 2023, will cap emissions in the state and then auction or allocate allowances to major emitters, such as fuel suppliers, industrial sources and electricity generators.
The law’s environmental justice provisions will ensure that 40% of the money from the program will be invested in “inordinately impacted communities, BIPOC communities,” Inslee said, using the term for Black, indigenous and people of color. “It is very much targeted to the people who have been swallowing and breathing this pollution for so long.”
The Climate Alliance includes Republican governors, such as Larry Hogan of Maryland. Still, when challenged by a reporter on why only Democratic governors were speaking at the event, Inslee said that, in general, Republicans “see [climate action] as negative for economic development. It is absolutely the opposite. The best possible economic development strategy for any state or nation right now is to seize the moment to steal the markets from China for clean energy. That’s our destiny; we ought to fulfill it.”
Oregon: Environmental Justice at the Forefront
Gov. Brown echoed Inslee. After reeling off a list of extreme weather events and wildfires that have hammered Oregon since she took office in 2015, she insisted that “we can tackle climate change and grow our economy at the same time. These goals are not mutually exclusive.”
Oregon has set 2040 as the target date for decarbonizing its electricity system. In 2020, Brown ordered state agencies to set caps on climate pollution for sectors like manufacturing, increase energy-efficiency standards for buildings and appliances, and create a statewide plan for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Brown also stressed that the programs being developed have environmental justice “at the forefront. … We all know our communities of color, our low-income communities and our rural communities are disproportionately impacted by these climate change events, so we are working very hard to disrupt that.”
For example, the state offers rebates for both new and used EVs so that the “most vulnerable Oregonians have access to these technologies,” Brown said.
Hawaii: ‘Net-zero is not Good Enough’
Battered by hurricanes and “rain bombs,” like the one in 2018 that deluged Kauai with close to 50 inches of rain in 24 hours, Hawaii is the proverbial “canary in the coal mine,” Gov. Ige said.
“We know 2 degrees is not sufficient; we are driving for 1.5 degrees Celsius,” Ige said, referring to the limit the U.N. has set for global warming.
Hawaii was the first state to commit to 100% clean energy in 2015, he said. “We didn’t know exactly how the technologies would play in and specifically how they would be utilized, but we were clear about where we needed to go, and that was the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy,” he said. “We know it’s the same as we race to eliminate emissions. We know that net-zero is not good enough. In 2018, the state of Hawaii committed to a net-negative goal by 2045 or as soon as practical.”
The state is tackling emissions not only from cars, but from aviation and marine transportation, he said. “We are preparing for electric planes for inter-island flights and sustainable aviation fuels for longer flights. We’re looking at switching our inter-island shipping to locally sustainable biofuels and hydrogen to power our medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and equipment for longer distance transportation.”
Illinois: A Focus on Jobs
Gov. Pritzker signed the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in September, making Illinois the first Midwestern state to commit to 100% clean energy by 2050. The law phases out private coal- and oil-fired generation by 2030 and all coal and natural gas by 2045. It also doubles state funding for renewables, making it clear that the state is serious about creating green jobs and building a green economy, Pritzker said. (See Illinois Senate Passes Landmark Energy Transition Act.)
And, he said, the law passed with at least some bipartisan support. “I think what they shared in common, the [Republicans] who voted with us, was a real focus on jobs. … This is about economic development as much as it is about saving our planet.”
Pritzker was the only one of the four governors in Glasgow who talked up the importance of nuclear as a source of low-cost clean power and a “bridge to a zero-carbon future.”
Illinois has the most nuclear reactors (11) and the most nuclear generating capacity (11.6 GW) of any state, according to the Energy Information Administration. Nuclear was responsible for 54% of its in-state generation in 2019, EIA says.
But Illinois is also working hard to become a hub for EV manufacturing, drawing electric truck and bus manufacturers like Rivian and Lion Electric, along with the parts and component manufacturers that supply them, Pritzker said. “We’re fostering an energy sector that reflects the population that it serves, with investments in workforce hubs, a path to prosperity for minority contractors and Illinoisans living in the environmental justice communities,” he said.
While describing the law as “the most significant step that Illinois has taken in a generation toward a reliable, renewable, affordable, clean energy future,” Pritzker also said, “There is so much more to. Everything that can be done, must be done.”
