On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, and we became one of only two countries (along with Syria) not signed onto the accord. Four days later, on June 5, I stood next to Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, a powerful, forward-thinking women of color, as she signed an executive order commiting the District of Columbia to the very climate agreement from which President Trump withdrew. In doing so, she became part of a movement in communities and cities across this country saying “we are still in” to the Paris Agreement, a movement that has become the answer to U.S. action on climate change.
It took time, but driven by committed local government officials, forward-thinking utility companies, and a coalition of local activists and community organizations, Washington, D.C., kept its word. In December, the D.C. city council passed the boldest piece of local climate legislation in the country. And on Friday, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the Clean Energy D.C. Act to transition the district to 100 percent clean energy — including the White House and halls of Congress — by 2032.
The bill is a powerf... Read more
