Story highlights 21 members of Congress urge state governors to continue efforts of Paris accord

"If Donald Trump's administration won't lead, our states must," the Democrats wrote

Washington (CNN) Congressional West Coast Democrats are calling on their states' governors to uphold the core tenets of the Paris climate agreement in the wake of President Donald Trump's expected move to pull the US out of the worldwide accord.

Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Jared Huffman of California, and Suzan DelBene of Washington, along with 18 other West Coast members of Congress, sent a letter Wednesday urging governors in their states to form a "green wall" to maintain climate leadership in the country.

"While President Trump continues to ignore reality, we are particularly grateful for your efforts. In order to send a signal to the international community, and to uphold our obligations to current and future generations, we encourage you to continue to aggressively address the threat of climate change and abide by this international effort," the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

They added: "The Paris Agreement calls for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and if Donald Trump's administration won't lead, our states must."

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This is not the first time states have vowed to forge ahead on climate policies regardless of Washington.

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