Lawmakers in California, New York and other Democratic-led states say they are undaunted by a recent executive order issued by President Trump that seeks to sue states over climate policies and intend to continue their efforts to combat climate change.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D) and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D) said Tuesday the state would seek to extend its greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program after it was singled out in the order. The program is set to expire in 2030.
“California must continue to lead on reducing pollution and ensuring our climate dollars benefit all residents,” they said in a statement. “That’s why we’re doubling down on cap-and-trade: one of our most effective tools to cut emissions and create good-paying jobs.”
California has enacted some of the most aggressive climate laws in the nation, including 2023 laws requiring corporations to disclose greenhouse emissions and climate risk.
Under the cap-and-trade program, enacted in 2006 and launched in 2012, greenhouse gas emissions are capped. Emitters such as power plants, natural gas providers and large industries can either cut their emissions or purchase allowances on the pollution they emit. Each year, the cap decreases to help reduce emissions.
Newsom said the program has been successful and has raised $28 billion over the past 10 years that’s been used on projects and programs that help clean the air, protect public health, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, conserve nature, and more. The funds also cover the California Climate Credit, a credit applied to utility bills twice a year.
In the executive order, Trump said the policies are unconstitutional and directed the U.S. attorney general to inventory state climate and related policies, and take action to stop enforcement of the state initiatives and laws.
Newsom last week called it an effort “to derail state climate efforts with a glorified press release masquerading as an executive order.”
The order also singled out a New York climate superfund law enacted in December. It requires oil and gas producers to pay into a fund that would be used to pay for projects to mitigate damage done by climate change. It’s already being challenged in court.
New York Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D), who helped author the law, called the order the product of lobbying by “greedy oil companies” that have wanted the U.S. Department of Justice to support lawsuits aimed at blocking the law’s implementation.
Dinowitz said Trump is “choosing to maximize the bottom line of oil executives over what is in the best interest of the people” by failing to “understand there are three equal branches of government, and it is not his to decide whether a law is constitutional.”
New York is the second state to enact a superfund law, behind Vermont, which was also mentioned in the order.
The threat of legal action was dismissed as legally suspect by Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark (D).
“The president has a lot of power; he does not have the extent of the power he wishes he had, which is why we see all these executive orders that say a lot of words but don’t actually do anything,” Clark told Vermont Public. “And this is another one of those examples.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), who co-chair the U.S. Climate Alliance — which includes 24 governors — also weighed in on Trump’s order.
“The federal government cannot unilaterally strip states’ independent constitutional authority. We are a nation of states — and laws — and we will not be deterred,” the governors said in a joint statement. “We will keep advancing solutions to the climate crisis that safeguard Americans’ fundamental right to clean air and water, create good-paying jobs, grow the clean energy economy, and make our future healthier and safer.”