Governors from 17 U.S. states signed a bipartisan agreement Tuesday to develop cleaner energy and transportation, just days after the Supreme Court issued its stay on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.
“We believe that this is a robust driver of economic growth, not a brake on economic growth,” Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee told media.
The High Country News reported a more mixed reaction across a wider mix of western states, with Colorado and Idaho continuing their CPP preparations but Arizona, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming putting their efforts on hold.
California Gov. Jerry Brown said the 17-state deal avoided any mention of climate change, after governors agreed to focus on areas where they can cooperate. “He said that includes building more sophisticated, energy-efficient regional electrical grids; pooling buying power to get cheaper clean energy vehicles for state fleets; and lobbying the federal government for more research and development on energy storage, clean fuels, and the electric grid,” AP reports.
In addition to Washington and California, participating states include Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.
