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LAR RY OGAN
GOVERNOR

January 10, 2018

Julie Cerqueira

Executive Director

US Climate Alliance

United Nations Foundation

1750 Avenue NW, Suite 421A
Washington, DC 20006

Dear Executive Director Cequiera:

Maryland is proud to be a leader in protecting our environment and ?ghting climate change and
commends other states and commonwealths for their efforts to ?nd the right balance for
environmental, economic, and energy progress. In Maryland, we are living proof that it is
possible to both protect the natural world around us while also fostering a pro-jobs and vibrant
economic opportunity environment.

When the president announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, I said I
disagreed and that it was not a decision I would have made. That continues to be my position.
The fact is that Maryland?s clean air standards were already signi?cantly stronger than the Paris
climate accord, and they still are. Most importantly, the importance of aggressive but balanced
action in states, communities, and businesses and the need for multi-state collaboration and
international leadership on climate change grows stronger every day.

For all of these reasons and others detailed below, I now intend to commit Maryland to
participation in the US. Climate Alliance. Over the course of 2018, we will share our insights,

experiences, and strategies in meeting and excelling beyond the requirements of the Paris climate
accord and the Clean Power Plan.

Most importantly we will be using this opportunity to encourage all states, especially those in the
US. Climate Alliance, to adopt clean air standards and greenhouse gas goals as strong and as
aggressive as Maryland?s. As we all know, there are many states that fall well below those
standards. In our state, we believe that you have to do more than just talk about protecting the
environment; you have to actually do the work.

STATE HOUSE. MARYLAND EI4OI
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TTY USERS CALL VIA MD RELAY

From the very beginning, our administration has been fully committed to protecting the
environment, and our bipartisan accomplishments before and after the president?s announcement
should be shared with others as a reminder of what is possible when leaders work across state
and party lines and learn from one another.

Maryland is on track to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by
2020 under the state?s greenhouse gas reduction law, which I signed into law in 2016, and we are
working on a comprehensive plan to meet the even more ambitious goal of 40 percent by 2030.
As you know, these goals are signi?cantly stronger than the Paris climate accord and more
aggressive than 48 other states. In 2015, I was proud to sign into law a bill creating the
Commission on Climate Change, chaired by my secretary of the environment, which is a model
in bipartisan, science-based discussion of climate and energy policy.

Maryland is also very active in and committed to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
(RGGI), a bipartisan, nine-state collaborative to cap emissions from power plants and
strategically invest revenues into energy and the environment. Our state is proud of its role over
the last year in strengthening, extending, and - we hope - expanding the size and reach of RGGI.
We are actively encouraging the leadership in Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, and
to join RGGI. Maryland is also engaged in other important partnerships such as the
Transportation and Climate Initiative and the Climate Registry.

Recently, Maryland participated extensively in the United Nations Conference on Climate
Change in Bonn, Germany in November 2017. My representative, Maryland?s Environment
Secretary Ben Grumbles, was there to learn from others, but also to show the world that
Maryland means business when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, advancing clean
energy, and increasing community resiliency and preparedness. It was also an opportunity to
learn more about the emerging structure and work plan of the US. Climate Alliance, which now
has an executive director and established workgroups to track progress among the states.

In closing, as long as the US Climate Alliance adds value, shows true bipartisanship, and avoids
Washington politics-as-usual, corrosive tactics and distractions, we will gladly invest our

time and energy with state colleagues for this cause.

We look forward to working with you.

 

Maryland Governor

Cc: Governor Jerry Brown
Governor Jay Inslee
Governor Andrew Cuomo