At Paris climate talks, nations will look to California
By Sammy Roth, The Desert Sun.
California has long led the world in tackling climate change. Now, Golden State leaders hope the rest of the world will follow their lead.
Negotiators from more than 190 countries will gather in Paris two weeks from Monday, in a last-ditch effort to strike a deal that averts catastrophic levels of global warming. Gov. Jerry Brown plans to lead a delegation of eight lawmakers, including Eduardo Garcia, one of the Coachella Valley's representatives in the State Assembly. They'll be joined by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, and many other environmental advocates who want to see world leaders draw inspiration from California.
California isn't a country, but for the purposes of Paris it might as well be. It's the world's eighth-largest economy, and the federal government often adopts the state's ambitious environmental policies. Brown's administration has worked with national and regional governments in Canada, Mexico, China and elsewhere on programs to slash carbon emissions. The governor has made it clear he wants California to play a prominent role in Paris.