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California and China signtheir own climateagreement. Sorry, Trump

Published on June 7th, 2017

TAGGED: CALIFORNIA, CHINA, CITIES, CLEAN ENERGY, CLIMATE ALLIANCE, FOSSIL FUELS, PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, SOLAR, WIND

California governor Jerry Brown is in China this week. He signed a climate agreement with Wan Gang, China’s minister ofscience and technology, committing both parties to work together to lower carbon emissions. He will be the keynote speakerat the Under2 Clean Energy Forum in Beijing on June 7, addressing  leaders from 170 countries, states, and cities on ways tocut back carbon emissions and keep global average temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius. Brown willalso meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping during his journey.

by Steve Hanley

A climate agreement of our own

“California is the leading economic state in America and we are also the pioneering state onclean technology, cap and trade, electric vehicles and batteries, but we can’t do it alone,”Brown said Tuesday. “We need a very close partnership with China, with your businesses,with your provinces, with your universities.”

Earlier this week, Brown signed similar agreements with with leaders from Sichuan andJiangsu provinces. A spokespersonfor the governor’s o�ce said theagreements are designed toincrease cooperation betweenChina and California on renewableenergy, zero emissions vehicles,and urban development thatfocuses on reducing the carbonimpact of cities. The United Stateshas 10 cities with a population of more than one million. China has

more than 10 times as many.

Twisting Trump’s Tail

Brown has been sharply critical of the portly potentate of Pennsylvania Avenue who chose to abrogate the committmentAmerica made to the other nations of the world in the Paris Climate agreement. “The president has already said climatechange is a hoax, which is the exact opposite of virtually all scienti�c and worldwide opinion,” Brown said. “I don’t believe�ghting reality is a good strategy.”

Brown has joined with the governors of 10 other states to form the United States Climate Alliance, a group that will work tocontinue the policies that are at the heart of the Paris climate

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agreement, defying Trump in the process.

The governors of two of those states are Republicans. “Ouradministration looks forward to continued bipartisan collaborationwith other states to protect the environment, grow the economy,and deliver a brighter future to the next generation,” declareMassachusetts governor Charlie Baker in a state about joining theClimate Alliance.

In a similar statement, Vermont governor Phil Scott said, “Growingour economy and protecting our environment by supporting cleareranymore a�ordable energy and transportation choices can gotogether. If our national government isn’t willing to lead in this area, the states are prepared to step up and lead.”

Decoding “All Of The Above”

Energy Secretary Rick Perry is also in China this week. He told the press that the US will pursue an “all of the above” energystrategy. That statement is political code that means the US will strive to make sure fossil fuels remain dominant in theenergy sector.

It’s part of the fraud that supports one of the talking points reactionaries love to use — the one about how governmentshould not be picking winners and losers in the marketplace. In fact, that is precisely what the government is doing for thefossil fuel industry, which contributes so generously to political candidates who promise in advance to only say good thingsabout fossil fuels.

Throwing Down The Gauntlet

Brown has thrown down the gauntlet to The Donald. To the fossil fuel reactionaries, California is anathema. It has highertaxes and more regulations than any other state. Yet it leads the nation in job and wealth creation. Entrepreneurs �ock therein droves to create new businesses. It has now assumed an important new role in national politics, one which is in directcon�ict with the national government, such as it is, in Washington. Which one is o�ering the best roadmap for America’sfuture? Time will tell.

(Originally appeared at our sister-site, Cleantechnica. Image CC by DonkeyHotey.)

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About the AuthorSteve Hanley writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island.You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

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13 states declare climateindependence from Trump,form United States ClimateAlliance

Published on June 8th, 2017

TAGGED: CALIFORNIA, CARBON EMISSIONS, CLEAN ENERGY, CLIMATE CHANGE, GLOBAL WARMING, JERRY BROWN, PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT,TERRY MCAULIFF, UNITED STATES CLIMATE ALLIANCE

Several states have decided to chart their own course in responding to the existential threat of climate change by formingthe United States Climate Alliance. California, not surprisingly, is the leader of the pack.

by Steve Hanley

The Golden State’s governor, Jerry Brown, has been steadfast in hisabuse of Donald Trump, suggesting he is a pig-headed ignoramuswho doesn’t understand the issues, can’t be bothered to readanything that is more than 142 characters in length, and has onlythe most passing familiarity with the English language. (See

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“covfefe.”) When in Europe recently for a meeting with NATOleaders, Trump could think of nothing else to say other than tocomplain about how hard it was for him to get permission to buildmore golf courses there.

Jerry Brown lays it on the line

Governor Brown has this to say about Donald The Dunderhead and his decision:

https://twitter.com/JerryBrownGov/status/870368834296750080/photo/1

Brown was joined by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Washington State Governor Jay Inslee to get the USCA o� theground, but those three states have quickly been joined by Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota,Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

“We welcome these 10 new members and look forward to collaborating and maintaining the momentum in the global e�ortto protect our planet, while jump starting the clean energy economy,” governor Cuomo said in a statement.

Virginia speaks up

Terry McAuli�e, Governor of Virginia, made this announcement regarding his state’s participation: “As the �rst state in theTrump era to take executive action to limit carbon emissions and create clean energy jobs, Virginia is proud to join theClimate Alliance. If the federal government insists on abdicating leadership on this issue, it will be up to the American peopleto step forward — and in Virginia we are doing just that.” McAuli�e is facing bitter opposition from a Republican-controlledstate legislature.

It is no coincidence that the attorneys general of both New York and Massachusetts are leading an investigation intowhether ExxonMobil has lied to the public and the �nancial community about its knowledge of the damage caused byextracting and burning fossil fuels for decades.

United States Climate Alliance mission

The US Climate Alliance members are pushing forward with measures designed to reduce carbon emissions within theirstates by up to 28% compared to 2005 levels. In doing so, they willmeet or exceed the targets set forth in the Clean Power Plan put inplace by the Obama administration.

The CPP was created by executive order to get around anintransigent Congress that refused for 8 years to cooperate in anymanner with the Obama administration. Its existence was a key inthe most recent election, as Trump used it as a bludgeon to stir upsupport from voters in the so-called Rust Belt states who felt theyhad been dissed by Obama and the Democrats.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is putting his money where his mouth is, according to Quartz, by pledging $15million from the Bloomberg Foundation to help meet America’s �nancial obligations pursuant to the Paris climate changeaccords. “Americans will honor and ful�ll the Paris Agreement by leading from the bottom up –and there isn’t anythingWashington can do to stop us,” he says.

In all, more than 1000 mayors, governors, business leaders and other o�cials have banded together to support the Parisaccords despite the decision by the portly potentate to dump the deal at the behest of the fossil fuel lobby.

States in alliance account for 30% Of GDP

The states who have already joined the US Climate Alliance account for more than 30% of America’s gross domestic product.More states are considering joining the Alliance, which would increase the �nancial clout they can wield to impact the USeconomy.

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About the AuthorSteve Hanley writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island.You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

According to Quartz, despite the chest thumping and bleating about federal regulations coming from such Trumpianhenchmen as Scott Pruitt, former attorney general of Oklahoma and now head of the EPA, more than 70% of allenvironmental regulations are imposed at the state or local level. That means the business community must pay closeattention to what the members of the alliance do.

Just as automakers must toe the mark established by the California Air Resources Board because the Golden State is thelargest new car market in the US, industries will need to be certain they comply with whatever provisions are put in place bymembers of the US Climate Alliance or risk losing a third or more of their potential customers.

Pushback by the feds

For its part, the federal government has considerable power over the states. Those who refuse to kowtow to Washington runthe risk of losing billions of federal dollars for such things as road construction, law enforcement, public education, andhundreds of other federal programs that Uncle Sugar funds.

That raises an interesting point. The citizens of the states that are part of the US Climate Alliance, in almost all cases, paymore in taxes to the IRS then they receive back in federal funds. The states that howl the loudest about political correctness,gay rights, abortion, background checks for gun purchases, and who can use what bathroom tend to be “taker” states. Whilecomplaining bitterly about the federal government, they are the states that suck the hardest on the public teat.

Breaking up is hard to do

Is there a possibility that all this drama could actually result in the US reorganizing itself into two, three, or more smallercountries? Yes, there certainly is. The idea of a Calexit movement — a splitting o� of America’s western states into a newnation or joining Canada — began circulating as soon as the last election ended. For years, some political pundits havesuggested that America is simply too large and too diverse to govern e�ectively.

Trump’s policies do seem to be splitting America apart and damaging its standing in the world community. Today, Secretaryof State Rex Tillerson was treated to a parade of New Zealanders welcoming him to their country with extended middle�ngers.

What might other nations do?

As Trump continues to alienate other nations, there is the possibility that they could resist his bizarre edicts by simplyimposing a carbon tax on products manufactured in countries that are not parties to the Paris climate accords. That wouldcertainly set the fox among the chickens, as America �nds itself unable to sell it products in other markets.

Trump seems incapable of thinking more than one move ahead, when he thinks at all. He could be the catalyst that bringsthe long and troubled American experience to an end as individual states rethink their relationship to the federation andelect to reorder their priorities to serve the best interests of their citizens.

(Originally appeared at our sister-site, Cleantechnica.)

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