U.S. Climate Leaders: States, Cities, Companies, Universities Committed to Paris
An ongoing and growing list of non-national groups in the U.S. that remain committed to Paris-level carbon reductions.
Almost immediately after the president announced that the U.S., as a federal entity, would remove itself from the 190-country Paris climate agreement, cities, states, and organizations of all kinds announced their continued commitment. Many leaders have expressed general support for climate action — and immediate disdain for Trump’s historically bad decision — but here we list those who have explicitly said they will reduce emissions in line with the U.S. national commitment (at least 26–28% reductions by 2025).
This list of non-national Paris supporters includes, as of July 7, 2017:
- U.S. states (12)
- State-level legislators (550 from 45 states, not listed here)
- Cities (347 from 44 states)
- Businesses (1519, the largest listed here)
- Universities (305)
- You
Over time, we may add those who have made other reduction commitments that are at the same (or better) pace — e.g., all the companies that have publicly committed to science-based carbon reductions and/or renewable energy goals.
Note: much of what follows stems from the amazing www.wearestillin.com statement. I’ve added some data on top like % of emissions from states, picked out the largest companies and highlighted Fortune 1000 firms, etc. But there could be other ways that organizations and political leaders make their commitment known. So, please contact me with any additions to the lists below at andrew@eco-strategies.com (Please put in title of email, “US Climate Leaders”).
1. States
As of June 9, 2017:
- 12 States (+ Puerto Rico), 18.1% of U.S. emissions, 36% of U.S. GDP
Within hours of Trump’s speech on June 1, Governors Brown (CA), Cuomo (NY), and Inslee (WA) led the creation of the United States Climate Alliance. (Governor Brown also announced more recently that he would gather world leaders in California for a meeting in September 2018, cementing his role as what the NY Times called “America’s de facto leader on climate change.”)
The US Climate Alliance group explicitly is “committed to achieving the U.S. goal of reducing emissions 26–28 percent from 2005 levels and meeting or exceeding the targets of the federal Clean Power Plan.”
Those included, as of June 9, with links to state-level announcements where possible, and % of total US emissions. (For elected officials on governors and cities, I’m including party affiliation).
California (D) 6.6%
Connecticut (D) 0.6%
Delaware (D) 0.2%
Hawaii (D) 0.3% (HI passed a law, committing to Paris-level reductions)
Massachusetts (R) 1.2%
Minnesota (D) 1.8%
New York (D) 3.1%
Oregon (D) 0.7%
Rhode Island (D) 0.2%
Vermont (R) 0.1%
Virginia, (D) 1.9%
Washington (D) 1.3%
Puerto Rico (PNP) NA
2. State legislators
The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators has assembled signatures to a statement that includes the following: “We stand with the [mayors, governors, countries] committed to upholding the ambitious goals adopted in the Paris Agreement.” As of June 22, 2017, the list includes 550 legislators from 45 states. The site also includes details on state level laws and resolutions.
3. Cities
As of July 7, 2017:
- 347 cities representing 65 million Americans
- From 44 states (come on MS, NE, ND, OK, SD, WV), including 26 state capitals)
The reaction from Mayors was quick and growing fast. The Climate Mayors organization has been assembling a list of signatories to a statement that commits their cities to “adopt, honor, and uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement,” as well as push for a 1.5 degree Celsius target and build the clean energy economy. They are keeping a list on Medium here. But I wanted to have all leaders in one place, with cities, businesses, etc.
So here’s the list.
Cities (not metro areas) with 1 million or more people are in ***bold & asterisk***; 500K or more in bold; capitals in italics.
Note: It would be good to include party affiliation for each mayor that signed, but there are a lot of cities. If you want to help crowdsource, send me any that you know.
Alabama: Birmingham
Alaska: Anchorage
Arizona: Flagstaff, **Phoenix**, Tempe, Tucson
Arkansas: Fayetteville, Little Rock
California: Alameda, Albany, Arcata, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Brisbane, Burlingame, Chula Vista, Claremont, Corte Madera, Culver City, Cupertino, Daly City, Davis, Dublin, El Cerrito, El Monte, Encinitas, Fremont, Half Moon Bay, Hayward, Healdsburg, Long Beach, Los Altos/Los Altos Hills, **Los Angeles**, Los Gatos, Manhattan Beach, Malibu, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Morro Bay, Mountain View, Napa, Oakland, Palo Alto, Petaluma, Rancho Cordova, Redwood City, Richmond, Sacramento, Saint Helena, San Carlos, **San Diego**, San Francisco, **San Jose**, San Leandro, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Santa Rosa, Stockton, Sunnyvale, Torrance, Watsonville, West Hollywood, West Sacramento, Windsor, Woodland
Colorado: Aspen, Boulder, Breckenridge, Denver, Edgewater, Fort Collins, Frisco, Lafayette, Lakewood, Longmont, Telluride, Vail, Wheat Ridge
Connecticut: Bridgeport, Hartford, Middletown, Milford, New Haven, Stamford, West Hartford, West Haven
Delaware: Lewes
Florida: Apalachicola, Coconut Creek, Coral Gables, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Gulfport, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Kissimmee, Lauderhill, Miami, Miami Beach, Miramar, North Bay Village, North Miami, Orlando, Pembroke Pines, Pompano Beach, Sarasota, Satellite Beach, South Miami, St Petersburg, Sunrise, Surfside, Tallahassee, Tampa, Weston, West Palm Beach
Georgia: Atlanta, Clarkston, Macon-Bibb County
Hawaii: Hawai’i, Honolulu, Kauai, Kauai County, Maui
Idaho: Bellevue, Boise, Ketchum
Illinois: Bloomington, Champaign, **Chicago**, Elgin, Evanston, Highland Park, Normal, Savanna, Skokie, Urbana
Indiana: Bloomington, Carmel, Fort Wayne, Gary, South Bend
Iowa: Des Moines, Dubuque, Fairfield, Iowa City, Windsor Heights
Kansas: Lawrence
Kentucky: Louisville
Louisiana: New Orleans
Maine: Portland
Maryland: Baltimore, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Salisbury, Takoma Park
Massachusetts: Boston, Beverly, Cambridge, Gloucester, Holyoke, Malden, Medford, New Bedford, Newburyport, Newton, Northampton, Salem, Somerville, Springfield, Worcester
Michigan: Ann Arbor, Buchanan, Detroit, East Lansing, Eden Prarie, Ferndale, Flint, Grand Rapids, Hamtramck, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Lapeer, Pleasant Ridge, Rockwood, Royal Oak, Traverse City, Ypsilanti
Minnesota: Burnsville, Carver, Eden Prarie, Falcon Heights, Duluth, Minneapolis/Saint Paul
Mississippi:
Missouri: Columbia, Kansas City, Maplewood, St Louis, St Peters, University City
Montana: Bozeman, Missoula, Whitefish
Nebraska:
Nevada: Reno, West Wendover
New Hampshire: Nashuam Portsmouth
New Jersey: Cape May Point, Cherry Hill, Fanwood, Glen Rock, Highland Park, Hoboken, Jersey City, Long Branch, Morristown, Newark, North Brunswick, Plainsboro, Princeton, Secaucus, South Orange Village, Swedesboro, Trenton, Union City, West New York
New Mexico: Las Cruces, Santa Fe
New York: Albany, Ardsley, Binghamton, Brighton, Buffalo, Cooperstown, Cortland, Hastings-on-Hudson, Hudson, Ithaca, Kingston, New Palz, **New York City**, Niagara Falls, Nyack, Ossining, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Sleepy Hollow, Syracuse, Tarrytown, Village of Lake George, White Plains, Whitney Point, Yonkers
North Carolina: Asheville, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Durham, Franklin, Greensboro, Highlands, Hillsborough, Pittsboro, Raleigh, Winston Salem
North Dakota:
Ohio: Amesville, Athens, Bexley, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Gambier, Lakewood, Toledo
Oklahoma:
Oregon: Albany, Beaverton, Corvallis, Eugene, Gladstone, Hood River, Milwaukie, Mosier, Portland, Rockaway Beach, Salem
Pennsylvania: Allentown, Ambler, Bethlehem, Downingtown, Lancaster, Milford, Mount Pocono, **Philadelphia**, Pittsburgh, State College, Swarthmore
Rhode Island: Pawtucket, Providence
South Carolina: Anderson, Charleston, Columbia, Greenville
South Dakota:
Tennessee: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville
Texas: Austin, **Dallas**, **Houston**, **San Antonio**, San Marcos, Smithville
Utah: Millcreek, Park City, Salt Lake City
Vermont: Burlington, Montpelier
Virginia: Alexandria, Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Falls Church, Richmond
Washington: Bellingham, Edmonds, Everett, Kirkland, Olympia, Redmond, Seattle, Snoqualmie, Tacoma, Vancouver
West Virginia:
Wisconsin: Bayfield, Glendale, Kenosha, La Crosse, Madison, Middleton, Milwaukee, Monona
Wyoming: Jackson
Washington, DC
Puerto Rico: Cumuy
4. Business
As of June 21, 2017. The “We Are Still In” list of signatories, assembled by WWF, Ceres, We Mean Business, C2ES began on June 5, 2017.
There are too many to list them all here (see the full list), but here are some of the larger companies and well-known brands, including, in bold, 45 that are US Fortune 1000 or Fortune Global 500. Some companies have made independent statements of support (e.g., IBM)— I’ll link where I can.
Adidas, Adobe, Airbnb, AMD, Allianz SE, Amazon, Apple, Autodesk, Aveda, Avery Dennison, BASF, Ben & Jerry’s, Bloomberg, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Boston Trust, Broad Group, CA Technologies, CalPERS, CalSTERS, Campbell Soup, Capricorn Investment, Columbia Sportswear, Danone, Dansko, Dropbox, eBay, Edison Int’l, Eileen Fisher, Etsy, Evian, Facebook, Gap Inc., Google, Herman Miller, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), HP Inc., IBM, IKEA, Ingersoll Rand, Intel, Interface, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), Jones Lang LaSalle, Johnson Controls, Kohler, L’Oreal, Levi Strauss, Lyft, ManpowerGroup, Mars, Microsoft, Nestle US, Netflix, New Belgium Brewing, Nike, NRG Energy, Outdoor Industry Association, Patagonia, PG&E, REI, Royal Caribbean, Royal DSM, Saint-Gobain, Salesforce, Sealed Air, Seventh Generation, Skanska USA, Starbucks, Stonyfield, Target, Tesla, Estee Lauder, The Hartford, The North Face, Tiffany, Timberland, Toshiba America, Twitter, Uber, Under Armour, Unilever, VF Corporation, Virgin Management, Walmart, Worthen Industries, Wrangler, Xanterra, Yahoo!
In addition, there are dozens of large companies with science-based targets in place that are in keeping with the Paris agreement. Some of those are captured by my database of corporate sustainability goals, www.pivotgoals.com. See also the 260+ companies committed to science-based targets and ~100 committed to 100% renewables.
5. Universities
As of June 21, 2017:
- 305 schools (the presidents, deans, or chancellors personally signed on)
Same commitment as the business list — the “We Are Still In” list. This is way more schools than I thought would sign on. It’s a great list (although I’m disappointed not to see my alma mater Princeton on there yet):
Adelphi University, Adler University, Agnes Scott College, Alamo Colleges, Allegheny College, American University, Amherst College, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Antioch College (OH), Antioch University New England, Arizona State University, Augsburg College, Austin College, Bard College, Barnard College, Bates College, Bennington College, Berea College, Berkshire Community College, Boise State University, Boston Architectural College, Boston University, Bowdoin College, Bowie State University, Brandeis University, Bristol Community College, Brookhaven College, Broward College, Bryn Mawr College, Bucknell University, Buffalo State College SUNY, Butte College, California Institute of Integral Studies, California Lutheran University, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, California State University System, California State University-Bakersfield, California State University-Channel Islands, California State University-Chico, California State University-East Bay, California State University-Fullerton, California State University-Long Beach, California State University-Los Angeles, California State University-Monterey Bay, California State University-Northridge, California State University-Sacramento, Cape Cod Community College, Case Western Reserve University, Central Community College, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Champlain College, Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Chatham University, Chesapeake College, City University of New York (CUNY), Clark University, Clarkson University, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland State University, Coe College, Colgate University, College of Saint Benedict, College of the Atlantic, College of the Holy Cross, Columbia University, Connecticut College, Cooper Union, Coppin State University, Davidson College, Delaware College of Art and Design, Delta College, Denison University, Dickinson College, Drexel University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Eastern Washington University, Eckerd College, Elizabethtown College, Emerson College, Emmanuel College, Emory & Henry College, Farmingdale State College, Florida International University, Fordham University, Framingham State University, Franklin & Marshall College, Frostburg State University, Furman University, George Mason University, Georgian Court University, Gettysburg College, Goddard College, Goshen College, Goucher College, Green Mountain College, Greenfield Community College, Grinnell College, Guilford College, Hampshire College, Haverford College, Hollins University, Humboldt State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Illinois Valley Community College, Interm Iowa State University, Ithaca College, Juniata College, Kalamazoo College, Kean University, Keene State College, Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University, Kenyon College, Keuka College, Lafayette College, Lamar Community College, Lane Community College, Le Moyne College, Lebanon Valley College, Lehigh University, Lehman College, Lewis & Clark College, Lewis University, Linfield College, Loyola University Chicago, Loyola University New Orleans, Luther College, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Macalester College, Marlboro College, Maryland Institute College of Art, Marylhurst University, Marymount University, Massachusetts Bay Community College, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Michigan State University, Middlebury College, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Monmouth University, Montclair State University, Moravian College, Mount Holyoke College, Mount St. Joseph University, Mt. Hood Community College, Muhlenberg College, Naropa University, Nazareth College, New England Culinary Institute, New Hampshire Institute of Art, New Jersey City University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New York Film Academy, New York University, North Lake College, North Shore Community College, Northampton Community College, Northeastern University, Northern Marianas College, Northwest Missouri State University, Northwestern Polytechnic University, Northwestern University, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Oberlin College, Occidental College, Oglethorpe University, Ohio University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon State University, Pace University-New York, Pacific Lutheran University, Parkland College, Pasadena City College, Paul Smith’s College, Pennsylvania State University, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Portland Community College, Portland State University, Prescott College, Purchase College SUNY, Quinebaug Valley Community College, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Randolph College, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhodes College, Rider University, Robert Morris University (Illinois), Rochester Institute of Technology, Roger Williams University, Roosevelt University, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey Camden Campus, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey Newark Campus, Rutgers, The State University of NJ, Saint Joseph’s College New York, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, Saint Michael’s College, Saint Peter’s University, Salisbury University, San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, Seattle University, Shoreline Community College, Simmons College, Smith College, Southern Connecticut State University, Southern New Hampshire University, Southern Oregon University, Southern Vermont College, Spelman College, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Stella and Charles Guttman Community College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Stockton University, SUNY (SUNY), SUNY at Albany, SUNY at New Paltz, SUNY at Stony Brook, SUNY College at Cortland, SUNY College at Oswego, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY Orange, Susquehanna University, Swarthmore College, Syracuse University, The American University of Paris, The College of New Jersey, The College of Wooster, The George Washington University, The New School, Towson University, Trinity College, Trinity Washington University, Truckee Meadows Community College, Tufts University, Union College (NY), Unity College, University of Baltimore, University of California, University of California Berkeley, University of California Davis, University of California Irvine, University of California Los Angeles, University of California Merced, University of California Riverside, University of California San Diego, University of California San Francisco, University of California Santa Barbara, University of California Santa Cruz, University of Central Missouri, University of Connecticut, University of Dayton, University of Delaware, University of Denver, University of Hawai’i Kapi’olani Community College, University of Hawai’i Kaua’i Community College, University of Hawai’i System, University of Iowa, University of Maryland Baltimore, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of Maryland University College, University of Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Miami, University of Minnesota-Morris, University of New Hampshire, University of New Haven, University of Oregon, University of Rhode Island, University of Richmond, University of Saint Thomas, University of San Francisco, University of South Carolina Columbia, University of the District of Columbia, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, University System of Maryland, Vassar College, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Vermont Law School, Villanova University, Virginia Wesleyan College, Wake Forest University, Warren Wilson College, Wellesley College, Wells College, Wesleyan University, Western Michigan University, Western Oregon University, Western Technical College, Western Washington University, Wheaton College (MA), Whitman College, William Paterson University of New Jersey, Williams College, Wittenberg University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester State University
In addition, I know some university presidents sent letters to their alumni expressing support for Paris before and after Trump’s announcement (e.g., this statement from MIT).
5. Other Organizations/Entities
List to come.
6. You
Efforts are under way to allow citizens to pledge their commitment to support the Paris agreement. A who’s who of environmental NGOs set up “I am still in” — see https://iamstillin.org/ and sign up. It’s a good list of personal commitments. I’d only add that we as individuals should consider how we might cut our own emissions 26–28% by 2025 as the U.S. had promised the world. This means having some sense of your current footprint (looking at your power usage, miles driven, flights taken, etc.) and then considering how to cut a quarter off that footprint.
Please contact me with any additions to the lists below at andrew@eco-strategies.com (Please put in title of email, “US Climate Leaders”).
