Over 50 U.S. Mayors Ignore President Trump’s Decision, Proceeds With Paris Climate Accord

In continued defiance against the Trump administration’s mandate to keep supporting the fossil fuel industry and renege on the voluntary commitments made by the U.S. upon signing the Paris Climate Accord, a coalition of mayors was formed to uphold these promises. Hailing from municipalities and cities all across North America, they signed what’s called the Chicago Climate Charter with the mandate to reduce U.S. carbon emissions.

The agreement was signed during the North American Climate Summit, which was held in Chicago on December 4th. This was when the official agreement that over 50 mayors supported was signed, which would compel the mayors to reduce carbon emissions in the cities that they govern. The mayors also intend to meet the same goals as stated in the Paris Climate Accord, which the Trump administration pulled out of.

Former President Barrack Obama also spoke during the event where he expressed his support of the coalition, NPR reports. This isn’t surprising since he did sign the Paris Accord in 2015. The former POTUS also cited several incidents and events that are scientific proof of the worsening state of the planet’s climate.

"Miami already floods on sunny days. Western cities across North American are dealing with longer and harsher wildfire seasons. A conveyor belt of some of the strongest hurricanes on record this summer smashed into Houston and Florida and Puerto Rico, and more than two months later, they are still struggling to recover," Former President Obama said.

"Obviously, we're in an unusual time when the United States is now the only nation on Earth that does not belong to the Paris Agreement. And that's a difficult position to defend. But the good news is that the Paris Agreement was never going to solve the climate crisis on its own. It was going to be up to all of us."