Democrat governors are pushing back as President Trump directed his Justice Department to target state climate laws.
“The federal government cannot unilaterally strip states’ independent constitutional authority,” said a joint statement from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Luján Grisham.
“We are a nation of states — and laws — and we will not be deterred. We will keep advancing solutions to the climate crisis that safeguard Americans’ fundamental right to clean air and water, create good-paying jobs, grow the clean energy economy, and make our future healthier and safer,” they said.
Trump, in an executive order on Tuesday, directed the Justice Department to identify any state and local laws and regulations that hamper energy development and stop their enforcement.
It specifically prioritized any laws aimed at combating climate change and greenhouse gas emissions or promoting environmental social and governance initiatives and environmental justice.
It also specifically targeted any efforts to impose a carbon tax or penalty. Washington state and California have implemented similar emissions cap-and-trade programs.
Trump broadly has vowed to “drill, baby, drill” for oil and gas and also promote the coal industry. All three are all fossil fuels whose burning contributes to the heating of the planet and the extreme weather that comes with it.