OLYMPIA - Gov. Jay Inslee and 11 other governors sent a letter to President Trump today urging the administration to continue the United States’ involvement in the international Paris Climate Agreement. Inslee issued the following statement:
“Climate change is already affecting our state and nation in damaging ways, and an international response at all levels of government is essential to avoiding its worst impacts. American leadership is crucial to the success of that international effort, and continued U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement is our nation’s moral responsibility.
“Washington state is taking action to reduce carbon pollution and to build a more prosperous, sustainable, secure and competitive clean energy economy for our state. We are pleased to partner with other states who are also working to reduce carbon pollution. But we need a partner in the federal government.
“President Trump will soon decide whether the U.S. will continue to be a world leader in the 21st century, or whether it will cede that leadership to nations such as China and India. I and my fellow governors encourage him to make the right choice.”
The United States was one of 195 nations that signed the Paris Climate Agreement in December 2015. As of April 2017, 144 counties have formally ratified it. The agreement went into effect in November.