Determined to continue rigorous enforcement of environmental laws in their respective states, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general in signing a letter to President Trump, strongly urging him to reconfirm the United States' commitment to the Paris Agreement. To address climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the COP21 in Paris in December 2015. In the agreement, all countries vowed to work to address and limit climate change.
In the letter, the Attorneys General urged President Trump to maintain the United States' commitment to the groundbreaking agreement:
"The Paris Agreement, by securing commitments from countries the world over, reflects this collective interdependency and constitutes an unprecedented global effort to address a problem threatening the well-being of everyone on Earth. The United States showed exemplary leadership in the years-long effort to secure the Paris Agreement, and our Nation should continue to lead by fulfilling its promise to abide by and implement this historic accord."
The Attorneys General note in the letter that climate change is a threat to national security, the economy and every citizen's health and well-being.
"As we commemorate the 47th anniversary of that first Earth Day, we confront threats to our planet greater than ever envisioned by those who sounded the alarm almost half a century ago. Climate change, if left unchecked, will lead to global environmental dislocation and disaster on a scale we likely cannot imagine. Yet at the same time, we have reason to be hopeful. The Paris Agreement on climate change, negotiated under American leadership and ratified by the vast majority of the world's countries, has the potential to achieve a reversal of our current trajectory.
Attorney General Kilmartin added, "If the United States walks away from the Paris Climate Agreement, we will essentially signal to other nations that it's okay discard science and to pollute the globe to the point of no return."
Joining today's letter are the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and American Samoa.