Jay Inslee Accepts 2025 TIME Earth Award
Jay Inslee on May 18, 2023. Credit - Steph Chambers—Getty Images
Jay Inslee believes in the power of local action—even in overcoming national pushback.
'Right now, we know these are hard days. We've got a person in the White House who must have been scared by wind turbines as a young man,' the three-term Democratic governor of Washington State said at the 2025 TIME Earth Awards on April 23. 'But despite the bad news coming out of Washington, D.C., we have a magic vehicle for progress that is the states.'
Despite the President withdrawing the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and dismantling climate initiatives across the country, 'Donald Trump cannot stop a state from defeating climate change,' Inslee said.
In 2021, Inslee signed into law Washington's Climate Commitment Act, which requires the state's largest polluters to cap emissions and purchase allowances for the amount they pollute, which the state reinvests into clean energy. He has passed laws requiring a 100% clean—meaning generated from renewable or zero-carbon resources—electrical grid by 2045, invested billions of dollars into solar power and electric vehicles, and launched state programs to help businesses and residents transition to clean energy.
President and CEO of American Forests, the oldest forest conservation non-governmental organization in the U.S., Jad Daley, who presented the award to Inslee, said Inslee's leadership is 'needed now more than ever.'
'The Governor's leadership in Washington State alone would merit this award,' Daley said. But Inslee 'went a pivotal step further' in 2017—when Trump first tried to withdraw from the Paris Agreement—by co-founding the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of 24 states that pledged to maintain pace with the goals set forth in the accord. Member states include Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law an extensive climate package in 2023 that would push the state towards 100% clean energy by 2040, and Maine, where Gov. Janet Mills has signed multiple clean energy and solar power bills.
'The cheapest electricity today is clean energy,' Inslee said. 'We are the answer to inflation, to give people cheap, inexpensive, clean energy.'
Inslee ended on a call to action.
'This is the United States, and every one of those states has the capability of advancing clean energy and fighting climate change,' Inslee said. 'I'm tired of playing defense. We need to play offense right now.'
TIME Earth Awards was presented by Official Timepiece Rolex and Galvanize Climate Solutions.
Contact us at letters@time.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
30 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
2026 races loom at Georgia Republican convention as Trump loyalty dominates
DALTON, Ga. (AP) — Steve Bannon took the stage Friday night at the Georgia Republican Convention to say it's too early to be talking about 2026. 'Don't even think about the midterms,' the Republican strategist told activists. 'Not right now. '26, we'll think about it later. It's backing President Trump right now.' But it didn't work. There was plenty of praise for Donald Trump . And while the party took care of other business like electing officers and adopting a platform, the 2026 races for governor and Senate were already on the minds of many on Friday and Saturday in the northwest Georgia city of Dalton. 'Everybody campaigns as quick as they can,' U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told The Associated Press Saturday. Lots of other people showed up sounding like candidates. Greene, after passing on a U.S. Senate bid against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff , laid out a slate of state-level issues on Saturday that will likely fuel speculation that she might run for governor to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Echoing Trump's signature slogan, Greene told the convention to 'Make Georgia great again, for Georgia.' She called for abolishing the state income tax, infusing 'classical' principles into Georgia's public schools, reopening mental hospitals to take mentally ill people off the streets, and changing Georgia's economic incentive policy to de-emphasize tax breaks for foreign companies and television and moviemakers. 'Now these are state-level issues, but I want you to be talking about them,' Greene said. In her AP interview before the speech, Greene said running for governor is an 'option,' but also said she has a 'wonderful blessing' of serving her northwest Georgia district and exercising influence in Washington. 'Pretty much every single primary poll shows that I am the top leader easily, and that gives me the ability to think about it. But it's a choice. It's my own, that I will talk about with my family.' More likely to run for governor is Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is expected to announce a bid later this summer. 'I promise you, I'm going to be involved in this upcoming election cycle,' Jones told delegates Friday. Like Greene, Jones is among the Georgia Republicans closest to Trump, and emphasized that 'the circle is small' of prominent Republicans who stood by the president after the 2020 election. Jones also took a veiled shot at state Attorney General Chris Carr , who declared his bid for governor in December and showed up Friday to work the crowd, but did not deliver a speech to the convention. 'Always remember who showed up for you,' Jones said. 'And always remember who delivers on their promises.' Carr told the AP that he didn't speak because he was instead attending a campaign event at a restaurant in Dalton on Friday, emphasizing the importance of building personal relationships. Although Trump targeted him for defeat in the 2022 primary, Carr said he's confident that Republicans will support him, calling himself a 'proud Kemp Republican,' and saying he would focus on bread-and-butter issues. 'This state's been built on agriculture, manufacturing, trade, the military, public safety,' Carr said. 'These are the issues that Georgians care about.' The easiest applause line all weekend was pledging to help beat Ossoff. 'Jon Ossoff should not be in office at all,' said U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter , who is spending heavily on television advertising to support his Senate run. 'Folks, President Trump needs backup, he needs backup in the Senate,' said state Insurance Commissioner John King , who is also running for the Senate. 'He's going to need a four-year majority to get the job done. And that starts right here in the state of Georgia.' Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley , who expressed interest Friday in running for Senate, did not address delegates. But one other potential candidate , U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, did. Collins told delegates that in 2026 it was a priority to defeat Ossoff and replace him with a 'solid conservative.' It's not clear, though, if Collins himself will run. 'We're going to see how this thing plays out,' Collins told the AP. 'I'm not burning to be a senator, but we've got to take this seat back.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
San Francisco Chronicle
42 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
2026 races loom at Georgia Republican convention as Trump loyalty dominates
DALTON, Ga. (AP) — Steve Bannon took the stage Friday night at the Georgia Republican Convention to say it's too early to be talking about 2026. 'Don't even think about the midterms,' the Republican strategist told activists. 'Not right now. '26, we'll think about it later. It's backing President Trump right now.' There was plenty of praise for Donald Trump. And while the party took care of other business like electing officers and adopting a platform, the 2026 races for governor and Senate were already on the minds of many on Friday and Saturday in the northwest Georgia city of Dalton. 'Everybody campaigns as quick as they can,' U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told The Associated Press Saturday. Lots of other people showed up sounding like candidates. Greene, after passing on a U.S. Senate bid against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, laid out a slate of state-level issues on Saturday that will likely fuel speculation that she might run for governor. Echoing Trump's signature slogan, Greene told the convention to 'Make Georgia great again, for Georgia.' She called for abolishing the state income tax, infusing 'classical' principles into Georgia's public schools, reopening mental hospitals to take mentally ill people off the streets, and changing Georgia's economic incentive policy to de-emphasize tax breaks for foreign companies and television and moviemakers. 'Now these are state-level issues, but I want you to be talking about them,' Greene said. In her AP interview before the speech, Greene said running for governor is an 'option,' but also said she has a 'wonderful blessing' of serving her northwest Georgia district and exercising influence in Washington. 'Pretty much every single primary poll shows that I am the top leader easily, and that gives me the ability to think about it. But it's a choice. It's my own, that I will talk about with my family.' More likely to run for governor is Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is expected to announce a bid later this summer. 'I promise you, I'm going to be involved in this upcoming election cycle,' Jones told delegates Friday. Like Greene, Jones is among the Georgia Republicans closest to Trump, and emphasized that 'the circle is small' of prominent Republicans who stood by the president after the 2020 election. Jones also took a veiled shot at state Attorney General Chris Carr, who declared his bid for governor in December and showed up Friday to work the crowd, but did not deliver a speech to the convention. 'Always remember who showed up for you,' Jones said. 'And always remember who delivers on their promises.' Carr told the AP that he didn't speak because he was instead attending a campaign event at a restaurant in Dalton on Friday, emphasizing the importance of building personal relationships. Although Trump targeted him for defeat in the 2022 primary, Carr said he's confident that Republicans will support him, calling himself a 'proud Kemp Republican," and saying he would focus on bread-and-butter issues. 'This state's been built on agriculture, manufacturing, trade, the military, public safety,' Carr said. 'These are the issues that Georgians care about.' The easiest applause line all weekend was pledging to help beat Ossoff. 'Jon Ossoff should not be in office at all," said U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who is spending heavily on television advertising to support his Senate run. 'Folks, President Trump needs backup, he needs backup in the Senate,' said state Insurance Commissioner John King, who is also running for the Senate. "He's going to need a four-year majority to get the job done. And that starts right here in the state of Georgia.' Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who expressed interest Friday in running for Senate, did not address delegates. But one other potential candidate, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, did. Collins told delegates that in 2026 it was a priority to defeat Ossoff and replace him with a 'solid conservative.' It's not clear, though, if Collins himself will run. 'We're going to see how this thing plays out,' Collins told the AP. 'I'm not burning to be a senator, but we've got to take this seat back.'
New York Post
43 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump warns of possible military action if Iran enriches more uranium: ‘We're going to have no choice'
WASHINGTON — President Trump warned Friday that Iran will not be allowed to enrich uranium — hinting at possible military strikes following the revelation that Tehran has been secretly building out a near weapons-grade nuclear program for months. 'They won't be enriching. If they enrich, then we're going to have to do it the other way,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. 'And I don't really want to do it the other way but we're going to have no choice,' he added. 'There's not going to be enrichment.' 5 'They won't be enriching. If they enrich, then we're going to have to do it the other way,' President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. AP Israel also reassured the White House earlier this week that it won't launch an attack on Iranian nuclear sites unless Trump signals that ongoing talks with Tehran about its nuclear program have failed, Axios reported. 'He may go into a war. But we're not getting dragged in,' Trump had said of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Time magazine interview in April to mark his first 100 days in office. 'I may go in very willingly if we can't get a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'll be leading the pack.' In May, the president said he'd warned Netanyahu not to bomb Tehran's nuclear facilities because the US had been 'having very good discussions with' Iranian negotiators. But Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that ending uranium enrichment was '100%' against his country's interests — and lashed out at the US for being 'arrogant' in its proposal for a revamped nuclear deal. That drafted agreement, submitted by Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff on May 31, permitted low-level uranium enrichment for civilian use. 5 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that ending uranium enrichment was '100%' against his country's interests. via Getty Images 'Who are you to decide whether Iran should have enrichment?' Khamenei said in a televised speech. 'If we had 100 nuclear power plants while not having enrichment, they are not usable for us.' On Tuesday, the State Department clarified that the US did not support Iran enriching uranium at any level. 5 Levels of 90% uranium enrichment are considered weapons-grade. REUTERS 'The fact is, President Trump tweeted that there is going to be no uranium enrichment,' spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. The US and Iran have already gone through five rounds of talks over the nuclear issue — without any breakthroughs. The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency last week reportedly disclosed that, in the background, Tehran had been upping its 60%-enriched uranium stockpile — from 274.8 kilograms to 408.6 kilograms between February and May — a roughly 50% jump between February and May. 5 A nuclear deal proposal, submitted by Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff on May 31, would permit low-level uranium enrichment for civilian use. Getty Images Levels of 90% are considered weapons-grade, and US officials have warned that Iran could convert their stockpile to reach that threshold needed for a single weapon in two weeks' time. That prompted Netanyahu to call on international allies 'to stop Iran,' sounding the alarm about the uranium enrichment levels being only appropriate for 'countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons.' Trump previously revived a 'maximum pressure' of sanctions on Iran after returning to the White House — and European nations privy to the UN nuclear report's findings may also be considering further snapback sanctions previously lifted under former President Barack Obama's nuclear agreement with Tehran. 5 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week called on international allies 'to stop Iran,' sounding the alarm about the uranium enrichment levels being only appropriate for 'countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons.' AP That 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was supposed to reduce Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium by 98%, though the UN findings have undercut that. Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
