CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said he is doesn’t plan to join an alliance set up by other states pledging to uphold the Paris climate change accord.
The Concord Monitor reported (https://bit.ly/2rRWehN) the Republican governor told the newspaper in a statement Monday that he wasn’t interested in joining the alliance “at this time.”
He added about President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate change agreement, “We do not yet know its impact on our economy and environment.”
Sununu said that he has made cleaning up groundwater a priority and remains committed to New Hampshire’s “long and proud tradition of responsible environmental stewardship.”
The state also is part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to reduce emissions.
The U.S. Climate Alliance was formed after Trump said last week that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris agreement reached by 195 countries last year.
California, New York and Washington started the alliance. Other states have also since joined, including four in New England, and Puerto Rico. Members pledge to reduce emissions 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, of New Hampshire, said Sununu “is wasting an opportunity to maintain New Hampshire’s leadership on the environment and grow our economy through green jobs.” She said the Paris agreement “sets laudable benchmarks for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to global warming.”
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