In announcing his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, President Trump has stirred up renewed protests both at home and abroad. Defying the federal government’s retreat from the global pact, both state-level and private actors have forged an unprecedented alignment, offering a last-ditch effort to hold up America’s end in the fight against climate change.

“The United States is in a very strange position right now. From a legal perspective, it remains to be a party of the Paris agreement at least until 2020, but from a political perspective, it has definitely announced to withdraw from the [Paris accord], which makes it hard to know the country’s next moves,” Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former climate change chief, told the People’s Daily Online during an interview on June 8.

The unpredictability of the U.S. stance on climate change has worried the international community, following the emergence of a significant funding gap caused by Trump’s proposed budget cuts. According to Figueres, it’s unknown whether the U.S. government will keep its previous promise to invest another $2 billion in the Green Climate Fund, a financial mechanism that assists developing countries in adapting to practices that mitigate climate change.

In response to the federal government’s retreat, philanthropic organizations and local authorities in the U.S. have stood up and voiced their continuing support for the agreement, with Michael Bloomberg committing up to $15 million to support the operations of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretariat in June. At the same time, California Governor Jerry Brown is looking to foreign allies, including China, to cooperatively tackle climate change.

According to Kevin Sheekey, senior advisor to Bloomberg, America’s current dilemma is similar to the U.K.’s status inside the EU, as the federal government is no longer being taken seriously by other member nations, and is no longer included in serious dialogues.

“That’s why sub-national organizations within the United States are going to make their own observations now,” Sheekey said.

Possible solution

The new alignment of sub-national organizations grew rapidly after Trump’s monumental announcement. According to a statement from Bloomberg Philanthropies, hundreds of U.S. mayors, governors, state attorneys general and CEOs have pledged to take action to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 26 percent by 2025, as the country pledged to do in the Paris agreement.

“Americans are not walking away from the Paris climate agreement. Just the opposite, we are forging ahead. Mayors, governors and business leaders from both political parties are signing onto a statement of support that we submit to the UN, and together we will reach the emission reduction goals the U.S. made in Paris in 2015,” said Bloomberg.

Bloomberg’s remarks have raised the possibility that the country can still keep its climate commitments, despite the absence of federal support in the battle against climate change. The alignment of states, cities and even corporations has emerged as the new backbone of the fight against climate change in the U.S.

Analyzing this new reality, Figueres noted that the function of the federal government in emissions reduction is like that of a captain who decides the general direction, while subnational organizations carry out the ground work.

“The commitments or the pledges we hear from the mayors, governors and corporations are not necessarily additional to the INDC of the United States, it is just a different way of looking at the emissions reductions,” said Figueres.

Unstoppable trend

Though Trump claims his “America First” ideology required the withdrawal, his administration’s decision has nevertheless been denounced by many experts as irresponsible and short-sighted.

"During the economic crisis, sectors linked to green energy perform quite well, which proves that the economy can grow in a sustainable and green way, which is clear proof that energy transition can bring economic opportunities," Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission vice president told the People's Daily Online.

Countries like China, for instance, serve as perfect examples of harvesting domestic benefits through emissions-reduction efforts. According to Reuters, China plans to invest $361 billion in renewable energy between now and 2020, which will create an estimated 13 million jobs. The country’s research and production of solar and wind energy has brought enormous business opportunities with other nations, especially in the EU.

“The de-carbonization of the economy is unstoppable because it is currently being driven not by politics but by market forces, by [renewable resources] that are much cheaper than the fossil fuel and by the policies of the countries that understand [such practices] are better for them,” said Figueres.