U.S. Seen in Striking Distance of Climate Goal Shunned by Trump

The U.S. is on track to meet about two-thirds of its carbon-emissions goals under the Paris climate accord — even without the support of President Donald Trump.

Cities, states, businesses and market forces are poised to trim carbon emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, according to a report presented Thursday by California Governor Jerry Brown and Michael Bloomberg, owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. That compares with the 26 percent to 28 percent U.S. commitment under the Paris agreement. Trump said in 2017 that he intended to withdraw the U.S. from the accord. But the country can get within “striking distance” of the target by doing things like increasing renewable energy mandates and retiring coal power plants, the report said.

“We are getting it done, but we still have a very tall mountain to climb,” Brown said said at the Global Climate Action Summit, which he and Bloomberg are co-chairing in San Francisco. The report was produced by the University of Maryland and the Rocky Mountain Institute. It was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.