CRRC is preparing new metro cars for LA.
California is a complete economy by itself.
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California Yes, United States No
How Trump matters less in a world of sub-country level governance.
By
Andrés Ortega, June 15, 2017
Some years ago, the late humorist Art Buchwald (1925-2007) wondered out loud whether California would continue being part of NATO. He did so on the eve of a visit to Washington by Jerry Brown, then and now the governor of California.
After Donald Trump’s
decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord, the question can be turned on its head.
California leads the way
California has emerged as the vanguard of a series of U.S. states, cities and companies vowing to continue respecting the commitments that have been adopted in Paris in 2016. It remains in, while the U.S. leaves. That move is more than symbolic.
The Paris Agreement – together with the decision on the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 – is the best example of what I call inductive global governance, bringing about progress
from the bottom up.
California is a powerful player on the world stage. It has 39 million inhabitants (more than Canada, and slightly less than Spain) – and
a GDP that makes it the fifth-largest economy in the world (not counting the United States itself).
Leading by example
Beyond just California, New York, Washington and a dozen other states – including two with Republican governors – plus cities, including the U.S.’s 10 largest (New York City, Los Angeles as well as the capital, Washington, D.C.), and some large companies, have signed up to a coalition called the
United States Climate Alliance.
These states and cities alone account for 30% of the U.S. economy and more than 52 million inhabitants. In terms of carbon emissions, however, these states account for only 18% of the U.S. total, because the most polluting (
headed by Texas) are with Trump.
The California-China axis
California’s dynamism goes beyond its influence within the United States. Governor Brown is the driving force behind a joint plan with Canada and Mexico to create a pact, albeit a voluntary one, honoring the Paris goals.
Of note as well, last week Brown went to see the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, who met him in Beijing and endorsed his initiative.
Xi, no doubt, remembered that
he and Obama were decisive in pulling off the Paris Agreement. So it is now California and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology that are signing an agreement to cooperate on green energy technologies.
https://www.theglobalist.com/california-yes-united-states-no/
