Originally published on Legal Planet.

Every day seems to bring more news of the Trump administration's dogged efforts to reduce environmental protections and accelerate climate change with increased carbon emissions. But, as has been true since Trump took office, the picture at the state level is much different. State governments across the country have accelerated their efforts to decarbonize while efforts to save the coal industry have foundered. Here are some of the latest developments.

Earlier this month, Maryland's legislature adopted a 50 percent renewable energy mandate for 2030. The law also doubled the target for obtaining power from offshore wind. Governor Larry Hogan had vetoed an earlier increase in the renewable energy mandate in 2017 but was overridden by the legislature. Hogan, a possible primary challenger to Donald Trump, is still thinking over his next move at this writing.

In mid-April, New Jersey adopted a 50 percent mandate for 2030, along with a measure to subsidize the state's nuclear reactors. The nuclear subsidy received cautious support from environmentalists. As NRDC said, "We don't want to see the abrupt closure of nuclear plants, because if you close them tomorrow, we know that they'll just be replaced by more fossil fuels …