Gov. Cooper: North Carolina joining pollution-reduction alliance

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper says North Carolina is joining more than a dozen other states with a goal of meeting greenhouse gas emission reductions even with President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord.

Cooper announced Wednesday that the state is becoming part of the U.S. Climate Alliance, saying that reducing pollution is important for the state's economy and keeping air clean. Cooper's office says the bipartisan alliance is committed to meeting its share of emission reduction targets the agreement had sought from the U.S. Nearly all of the alliance states are led by Democratic governors.

Cooper said in June that Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord was bad for the country and signed an open letter declaring North Carolina would keep working to reduce pollution.

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Associated Press