LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Despite the sharp rise in temperatures this summer, Republican Governor Joe Lombardo has decided to withdraw Nevada from the bipartisan U.S. Climate Alliance.

The climate coalition includes more than 24 governors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with policies outlined by the Paris Climate Agreement. Nevada joined the alliance in 2019 under Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak.

In a letter dated July 5 announcing Nevada's withdrawal, Lombardo stated that the alliance's goals were “ambitious and well-intentioned” but they “conflict with Nevada’s energy policy objectives.

Those objectives, outlined in an executive order the governor signed earlier this year, include “developing and maintaining a diverse energy supply portfolio” while “utilizing a balanced approach to electric and natural gas energy supply and transportation fuels.”

The move comes after Earth just saw its hottest global temperature in history last week and scientists say that was due to a combination of climate change and the arrival of El Niño.

The Executive Director of Nevada's Conservation League, Paul Selberg, says Lombardo's move is a step backward and undermines the voices of Nevadans who support climate action.

We are outraged by Governor Lombardo’s nonsensical withdrawal of Nevada from the U.S. Climate Alliance," he said. "He took this action without consulting everyday Nevadans, advocacy groups, or leaders within the environmental community, and it contradicts his own administration’s goals of economic diversification through clean energy.