More than 900 companies, including Nike, Tesla, Google and Microsoft, have joined former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s declaration of defiance against Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, with a vow to achieve and exceed the original commitment. The United Nations secretary-general’s special envoy for cities and climate change Mike Bloomberg, has submitted an “unprecedented statement of unity” from US mayors, governors, state attorney generals and the chief executives of more than 900 businesses. Bloomberg has vowed to achieve and eventually exceed the US’s original commitment to the Paris Agreement through a Societal Nationally Determined Contribution.
Edie 6th June 2017 read more »
The reaction to President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord was swift. Mayors, governors and chief executives across the US declared that whatever the federal government might do, their cities, states and businesses would make sure the goals set out in the Paris agreement would be met. When the White House leaves the Paris accord, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti promised, “we’re going to adopt it in Los Angeles”. He added: “Here in Washington, while people are going small, cities are going big.” New York’s mayor, meanwhile, promised to “take matters into our own hands”. He said: “It’s a sad state of affairs when localities have to do what the federal government should be doing.” California governor Jerry Brown set off for China the day after Mr Tr ump’s decision, promising to strengthen agreements with Beijing on promoting clean energy solutions. More than 30 mayors, three governors and more than 100 business leaders are preparing a pact to be submitted to the UN, committing them to meet the US greenhouse gas emission targets under the accord. A decade ago these words and promises would have rung hollow. No longer. Globalisation has removed the barriers to worldwide communication and co-ordination. The economic and civic influence held by sub-national leaders has increased – especially for mayors around the world. Both changes have come at the expense of national governments having sole authority over cross-border interactions.
FT 6th June 2017 read more »
China and California have signed an agreement to work together on reducing emissions, as the state’s governor warned that “disaster still looms” without urgent action on climate change. The governor of California, Jerry Brown, spoke to reporters at an international clean energy conference in Beijing about Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris agreement, saying it would ultimately prove to be only a temporary setback. For now, he said, China, European countries and individual US states would fill the gap left by the federal government’s decision to abdicate leadership on the issue. “Nobody can stay on the sidelines. We can’t afford any dropouts in the tremendous huma n challenge to make the transition to a sustainable future,” Brown said. “Disaster still looms and we’ve got to make the turn.” Brown later held a closed-door meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, during which the two pledged to expand trade between California and China with an emphasis on so-called green technologies that could help address climate change, Brown said. Trump’s announcement last week that he wanted to pull out of the Paris accord did not come up, according to the governor.
Guardian 7th June 2017 read more »
The Savannah resident joins more than 2 million other Georgia Power customers who collectively pay a reported $23 million a month for the construction of two new and highly controversial nuclear reactors that may never produce a single kilowatt of energy. The new reactors at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, 30 minutes south of Augusta, were the first approved in the U.S. in 30 years, and they were expected to revive the nation’s nuclear power industry, ushering in an era of carbon-free energy to help control climate change. But the expansion at Plant Vogtle has become an expensive boondoggle for the company and its customers. “What is upsetting to me is, in the end, I’m just one person and it’s added up to $700 in the six years since they began charging it,” says Stumpf, a conscientious consumer of energy who is speaking from her office on a 90-degree afternoon in May with the air conditioner off. Georgia Power, a subsidiary of the Southern Company, implemented the 7 percent surcharge in 2011 after lawmakers gave the utility permission to charge customers for the construction of the project. The charge appears on consumer’s bill as “Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery.” So far Georgia Power has reportedly collected nearly $2 billion from the surcharge. Stumpf says that while she can afford the $6 to $7 surcharge she pays each month, she is angry because she was never given the choice and would prefer to see her money spent on what she considers safer, renewable energy options.
The Weather Channel 23rd May 2017 read more »