California Gov. Jerry Brown addresses attendees at the Global Climate Action Summit on Sept. 13 in San Francisco. Behind Brown are, from left to right, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington state, Gov. David Ige of Hawaii, Gov. Dannell Malloy of Connecticut, and New York energy czar Richard Kauffman. (Joe McHugh/California Highway Patrol)

Governors Vow to Hold US Place in Paris Climate Agreement

by Maria Dinzeo, Court House News, September 13, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – Under the glaring lights of a small stage in the Moscone Center in San Francisco on Thursday, the governors of four states – California, Hawaii, Connecticut and Washington – reaffirmed their commitment to fighting climate change and made a host of ambitious promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions....

(skip 8 paragraph anti-Trump rant)

...The governors on Thursday also touted a pact the alliance just formed with Canada and Mexico to reduce carbon emissions across North America 50 percent by 2025 across. They also plan to phase out coal power, push the use of electric vehicles, restore marine ecosystems and share information on scientific progress toward clean energy.

“We want to make electric cars available to everyone and create an environment where one would be embarrassed not to have an electric vehicle,” Malloy said.

Brown kept his remarks short, saying, “This summit is advancing the cause so more people are aware, get it, and resolve to take whatever action they can. We need the federal government, we need the president of the United States, but in the meantime, we’re going to build momentum. Let’s get at it.”

While Brown has received much praise for hosting the first international climate event in support of the Paris Agreement, throngs of raucous protesters took to the streets in downtown San Francisco pm Thursday morning to blast the governor for not doing enough to reduce California’s oil dependence. They also accused him of being in league with the oil industry.

“We’re moving in the same direction as the critics,” Brown said in response to reporter questions about the protest. “They just want us to go a little faster, and we want to go a little faster ourselves.”

He pointed out California has reduced its oil production by 17 percent, though consumption of oil has gone up 4 percent during his 8-year tenure.

(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)

“We have to replace fossil fuel vehicles with hydrogen or electric,” he said.

When asked how he could call himself a climate change leader while accepting millions from the oil industry, Brown said that’s simply how politics works.

“Politics runs on money. Billions of dollars. All of these people are in the industry, that’s part of what it is. In the world of dreams, you can do a lot of things. In the world of practicality, there’s a way it works,” Brown said.

“The people who are protesting don’t need to raise money, but there is a lot of dark money there.”

Related: Clean Energy Fail: While Most States Clean Up, Hawaii CO2 Emissions Rise Since '08

Related: Crichton: Environmentalism is a religion

SA Editorial: Timely climate change summit  (More 'weather = climate' drivel.)