11 American governors urge President Trump to not withdraw from Paris agreement

Eleven American governors urged US President Donald Trump not to withdraw from the Paris agreement, saying that if the US does not make the transition to clean energy then China and India will reap the benefits of the low-carbon leadership.

The 11 governors - including those from California, New York, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Virginia, Connecticut, Hawaii, Delaware and Rhode Island - wrote a letter in this regard to Trump, days after he said that he is going to take a big decision on Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Trump has been highly critical of the Paris Agreement arguing that the US has been unfairly treated by this international agreement and that countries like India and China have benefited from this.

The letter said Collective action to limit



emissions world-wide is critical, without collaboration, climate change will cost the world's nations several trillion dollars in damages. Under the Paris Agreement, all the world's major economies are taking action on climate change for the first time, including China and India, which have put forward their own commitments to cut their carbon pollution domestically.

The governors said if the US does not maintain global climate leadership through national policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to clean energy, China and India will. This would be a huge lost opportunity, putting us at a competitive disadvantage and potentially locking us into technologies and economic pathways that are increasingly obsolete while China and India reap the benefits of low-carbon leadership.