Justin Trudeau has been quietly contacting US politicians about tackling climate change

He met last month with the governor of Washington

Trudeau as been quietly contacting US governors to talk about climate change (AFP/Getty Images)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been an outspoken critic of US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw his country from the Paris climate agreement, but he’s also been quietly working to help other American leaders ensure that carbon emissions drop.

Mr Trudeau tweeted that “we are deeply disappointed that the United States federal government has decided to withdraw form the Paris Agreement,” after Mr Trump’s announcement. Notably, he specified the federal government’s actions, not the US as a whole.

That’s because Mr Trudeau’s administration has been quietly reaching out directly to US governors to discuss cross-border collaborations on climate change. For instance, he met with Washington Governor Jay Inslee just last month to talk climate change. Washington is one of three states to have pledged to honour the carbon emission goals set forth in the Paris agreement in spite of Mr Trump’s pull back.

Washington is joined by New York and California in vowing to continue the fight against climate change. The three states account for roughly a fifth of the US economy, and produced about 11 percent of US emissions in 2014, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.

“The president has already said climate change is a hoax, which is the exact opposite of virtually all scientific and worldwide opinion,” California Governor Jerry Brown said in a joint statement with Mr Inslee and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo . I don’t believe fighting reality is a good strategy — not for America, not for anybody. If the President is going to be AWOL in this profoundly important human endeavour, then California and other states will step up. The three states are already some of the most progressive in policies regarding greenhouse gas emissions and aim to lead the world on fighting climate change.”

Other US leaders have also pledge to continue fighting climate change, too. When Mr Trump said during his withdrawal announcement that he was “elected to represent Pittsburgh not Paris,” the mayor of that city, Bill Peduto, quickly vowed that Steel City would continue to fight climate change (the majority of residents there voted for Mr Trump’s competition in 2016, and most adults support reducing greenhouse gas emissions).