I’m seeing lots of talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger and California’s stance on climate change. And for good reason. The state is pushing the envelope and potentially driving change at the global level. Through executive order and legislative action, California is shooting to reduce state greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (and even to 80% below that by 2050). Here’s what Inside Green Business had to say today…
A recent decision by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to mesh the state’s new climate program with other domestic and international initiatives could serve as a catalyst for bringing the United States back into a global climate regime, observers say
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman called for even more action today in his editorial, “Make History, Arnold!”
California’s recent push just demonstrates one of the major points about the role of goverment we make in Green to Gold — power and pressure is spreading away from just federal regulation up and down a “vertical” dimension, from global and continent-level initiatives (see Europe) at the top of the scale, down to the state and local level at the bottom. One big example: the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, signed by 320 U.S. Mayors in 47 states (both blue and red), which commits their towns and cities to pursue the goals of the Kyoto Protocol that the U.S. did not sign.
In short, other levels of government will fill any apparent voids at the federal level. And this can create confusing rules and an uneven playing field for business. Next post on this phenomenon…
