The United States Climate Alliance (U.S. Climate Alliance) is a coalition of governors formed in 2017 who support greenhouse gas reduction policies in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, both in their states and at the federal level. The group is a project of the United Nations Foundation, a private nonprofit formed with a ten-year, $1 billion pledge by media mogul Ted Turner in 1997 to support the activities of the United Nations. ^{1 2}

While the alliance is officially bipartisan, as of October 2022 only three of its 24 gubernatorial members were Republicans. ³

Background

The U.S. Climate Alliance is a multi-state coalition that is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement reached during the Obama administration but abandoned during the Trump administration. ⁴ The alliance is a project of the United Nations Foundation. ⁴

The governors of the 23 states and Puerto Rico tout that they represent more than half of the U.S. population and more than $11 trillion in U.S. GDP. The states also tout representing about 1.7 million renewable energy and energy efficiency jobs. ⁴

The alliance started after the Trump administration withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement in 2017. The founding members of the U.S. Climate Alliance were then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), and then-California Gov. Jerry Brown (D). ⁵ A day later, the governors of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Hawaii agreed to maintain their states’ support of the Paris Agreement and joined the alliance. ⁶

Policy Goals

Member states and territories commit to implement policies that advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025; track and report progress to the global community when the world convenes to evaluate the Paris Agreement; and accelerate new and existing policies to reduce carbon emissions and promote environmentalist energy deployment at the state and federal level. ⁷

As of mid-2022, the alliance says that 22 members have renewable and clean energy standards for electricity; 18 members have 100 percent zero-carbon or carbon-neutral electricity goals; and 14 members have economy-wide net-zero emissions goals. ⁸

The U.S. Climate Alliance joined with the governments of Canada and Mexico in November 2017 to establish the North American Climate Leadership Dialogue. As part of the agenda, the states of Connecticut, Hawaii, and New York joined Canada and Mexico in the “Powering Past Coal Alliance,” to phase out existing and prevent building new coal power stations. The alliance also joined with Canada and Mexico for two other projects, Resources for the Future, and Climate Impact Lab, to share information and scientific research to reduce carbon emissions. ⁹

Member Governors

The U.S. Climate Alliance bills itself as a “bipartisan coalition of governors.” As of late 2022, it has three Republican governors and 21 Democratic governors. ⁴

Democratic Governors:

Gavin Newsom, California

Jared Polis, Colorado

Ned Lamont, Connecticut

John Carney, Delaware

David Ige, Hawaii

J.B. Pritzker, Illinois

John Edwards, Louisiana

Janet Mills, Maine

Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan

Tim Walz, Minnesota

Steve Sisolak, Nevada

Phil Murphy, New Jersey

Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico

Kathy Hochul, New York

Roy Cooper, North Carolina

Kate Brown, Oregon

Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania

Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico

Daniel J. McKee, Rhode Island

Jay Inslee, Washington

Tony Evers, Wisconsin ¹⁰

Republicans:

Larry Hogan, Maryland

Charlie Baker, Massachusetts

Phil Scott, Vermont ¹⁰

Leadership

Casey Katims is the executive director of the U.S. Climate Alliance. He was previously deputy associate administrator for intergovernmental relations at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Katims was also previously the director of federal and inter-state affairs for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D). He was also previously a policy adviser to U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA). ¹¹

Taryn Finnessey is the managing director of the U.S. Climate Alliance. Finnessey was previously the alliance’s policy director and acting executive director. Before working for the alliance, Finnessey was the senior climate change specialist for the Colorado state government. ¹¹

Hari Vutukuru is the chief of staff of the U.S. Climate Alliance. Vutukuru was previously the director of operations at the Food Bank For New York City. Vutukuru also previously worked at Success Academy Charter Schools, and for two gun-control advocacy groups, Everytown For Gun Safety and for Moms Demand Action. Vutukuru is also a logistics officer in the Army National Guard. ¹¹

Kristin Igusky is the head of programs and analysis for the U.S. Climate Alliance. She previously, was an associate with the U.S. Climate Initiative at the World Resources Institute. Before that, Igusky worked on SAIC’s Climate Change Services team. ¹²

1. “Ted Turner Donates $1 Billion to ‘U.N. Causes’.” CNN. Cable News Network, September 19, 1997. http://edition.cnn.com/US/9709/18/turner.gift/.
2. U.S. Climate Alliance: Privacy Policy. Accessed Sept. 6, 2022. http://www.usclimatealliance.org/privacy-policy.
3. “About Us: Governors.” U.S. Climate Alliance. Accessed Sept. 6, 2022. http://www.usclimatealliance.org/governors-1
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5. “U.S. Climate Alliance.” Hussman. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.hussmann.com/us-climate-alliance
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8. Press Release. “Inslee and U.S. Climate Alliance respond to U.S. Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. EPA.” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. June 30, 2022. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/inslee-and-us-climate-alliance-respond-us-supreme-court-decision-west-virginia-v-epa
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12. “About Us.” U.S. Climate Alliance. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.usclimatealliance.org/about-us