On June 1st, Governor Brown convened leaders from states, cities and provinces from around the world at the inaugural Subnational Clean Energy Ministerial (SubCEM) in San Francisco to highlight regional clean energy and climate action and collaboration. Read more as covered by Imperial Valley News below, or get the full story from Imperial Valley News here.
San Francisco, California – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today convened leaders from states, cities and provinces from around the world at the inaugural Subnational Clean Energy Ministerial (SubCEM) in San Francisco to highlight regional clean energy and climate action and collaboration. At the event Governor Brown also joined fellow Pacific Coast Collaborative members, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, British Columbia Environment Minister Mary Polak and officials from major West Coast cities to announce new efforts to reduce emissions and combat climate change and welcomed seven new signatories – including the first state from India – to the Under 2 MOU climate agreement.
“This is important that you’re here – that’s big – but the threat and the task, the complexity, the cost and the political resistance is formidable. So this is not for the faint of heart, this business of climate change is not for wimps,” said Governor Brown. “We have to renew our commitment, we have to deepen our understanding, we have to intensify our effort.”
The two Pacific Coast Collaborative agreements signed today include:
The Pacific Coast Climate Leadership Action Plan: An agreement between Pacific Coast Collaborative members California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, which reaffirms the key climate and clean energy commitments made in 2013 and extends regional collaboration in new ways, including: establishing a consistent approach for monitoring and reporting on emissions of short-lived climate pollutants such as methane and black carbon, with the aim of establishing reduction targets by 2020; promoting integration of electricity grids in Western states and increasing opportunities for cross-national energy sharing; increasing climate resilience through collaboration on drought preparedness, wildfire risk mitigation and forest restoration; and accelerating the transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) through support for a comprehensive Pacific Coast charging network and bulk vehicle purchasing programs.
The Pacific North America Climate Leadership Agreement: A pact between Pacific Coast Collaborative members California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, as well as the City of Vancouver, British Columbia and U.S. cities Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle and Portland in which the jurisdictions commit to achieve an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 through collaboration in several areas. These include strategies to enhance the regional ZEV market; implementation of benchmarking and disclosure programs for energy use by large buildings; aiming for energy data reporting from at least 75 percent of eligible large building square footage; and reducing carbon emissions from food waste through organic waste prevention and recovery initiatives such as composting and food redistribution.
Read more here, or get more on benchmarking under AB 802.