NEW YORK (AP) — Governors and former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are championing a 15-state coalition that's tackling environmental issues.

New York's Andrew Cuomo, California's Jerry Brown and Washington's Jay Inslee — all Democrats, like Kerry — held a press conference Wednesday in New York to promote the bipartisan U.S. Climate Alliance .

The politicians say, among other things, that alternative energy is good for the economy.

They took some jabs at Republican President Donald Trump, who has said the United States is pulling out of the Paris climate agreement to combat global warming.

Paris deal supporters, including Kerry, have predicted Trump's withdrawal would cause almost irreparable damage to America's standing abroad and potentially its ability to negotiate diplomatic agreements.

The alliance positions itself as an alternative to accomplish environmental goals.