The Governors' Global Climate Summit 2
Last year our program was a major sponsor and organizer of the 2008 Governors' Global Climate Summit which was a tremendous success thanks to more than 1,000 participants from 53 different states, provinces and nations around the world. At the summit, successful alliances were formed when 31 government officials from eight countries signed specific agreements and a declaration acknowledging the threat of climate change and committing to collaboration on deforestation, technology transfer and information sharing. To continue the progress made last year, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with other US Governors and the United Nations Development Program, hosted The Governors' Global Climate Summit 2 in Los Angeles, California from September 30-October 3, 2009. This multi-day summit focused on the "Road to Copenhagen." Like last year New America's Climate Policy Program was deeply involved in the planning and execution of this important event. Please click here for our Summit 2 Newsletter which summarizes the highlights and outcomes of the Summit. For additional information please also visit the Summit website: www.ggcs2.org
More News from the Climate Policy Program:
State Climate Policy Tracker Reveals Progress by 33 States: A New Tool to Track State GHG Reduction Measures. Click here to access the State Climate Policy Tracker.
(UPDATED TRACKER POSTED WEEK OF 10/12/09 - Note Washington state in process of being updated and Colorado state is being revised)
The New America's Foundation's climate policy team has created an online tool to allow state-by-state tracking of hundreds of carbon and energy saving measures now being implemented across the country by U.S. States. The State Climate Policy Tracker takes the form of a single spreadsheet with one tab devoted to each state that has completed or is in the process of completing a climate action plan. A seven column matrix captures the climate actions taking place across six economic sectors, and reports on the progress of each measure, its cost or cost-saving potential, and the estimated reduction in carbon emissions expected on an annual basis.
The Policy Tracker was compiled from publicly available information. Since 2006, 33 U.S. states have created climate action blueprints to guide greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions efforts. These blueprints, often guided by a reduction target, contain on average 50 policy recommendations, and states have already started to implement many of them. The Policy Tracker provides a snapshot of where things stand, state-by-state.
Much of the state climate action planning was facilitated by the Center for Climate Strategies, a non-profit expert group that works with state governments across party lines to build consensus among stakeholders around a blueprint for climate action (www.climatestrategies.us). The large majority of measures in these state plans were approved unanimously, and so the Policy Tracker also provides a snapshot of an effective collection measures that have already surmounted political hurdles.
The measures in the Tracker are organized according to the economic sectors used by states in their planning:
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation (Residential, Commercial, Industrial)
- Clean and Renewable Energy, Energy Supply
- Transportation and Land Use
- Agriculture, Forestry and Waste Management
- Water
- Education
- Cross-Cutting issues (i.e. Inventories, Cap and Trade)
Until the United States approves a federal climate legislation, the state climate policies being followed by the Policy Tracker essentially add up to a de facto federal policy. The tracking tool includes information both on states that have completed plans and those that are in process of completing plans. Each page includes contact and website information. The State Climate Policy Tracker is a working document, and will be updated periodically. As a complement, the Center for Climate Strategies also provides detailed information on the full range of policy actions undertaken by US states on its website (www.climatestrategies.us). Click here to access the State Climate Policy Tracker.
Introducing the Climate Policy Program Bulletin
As a prelude to a federal policy, the U.S. states are leading the way in building a U.S. climate change and clean energy policy from the ground up. This bulletin tells the story of these states through a PowerPoint presentation. It showcases the important state work that has occurred in the past few years to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and it highlights the building blocks the states use to create a comprehensive de facto national Climate Action Program. State climate action policies not only provide examples and lessons learned that are helpful to other states, but they serve as a blueprint for our current federal government to follow in order to make the United States an international leader on climate change. Click here to view the Bulletin.
About
There is growing scientific consensus that the impacts of global warming are nearing one or more tipping points and that if these points are passed, the result will be massive economic and environmental displacement worldwide within the next 20 years. There is also broad consensus that without a national program to address greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in the United States, the world cannot avoid passing these critical tipping points. And while several states, cities, and companies have taken significant steps to address global warming in their own jurisdictions, the progress is too slow and dispersed to overcome the lack of such policies in other parts of the nation or at the federal level.
New America’s Climate Policy Program, which launched March 30th, 2007, focuses on designing and implementing a national response to climate change by aggregating the action of state and local governments. To learn more, please see the tabs below -- or click here for a detailed program description.
Press
| Headline | Date |
|---|---|
| Where's the Clean Energy? | The Nation. | November 19, 2009 |
| Are oil sands in crosshairs of Obama plan? | Globe and Mail | October 22, 2009 |
| Can Everyday Actions Save the Planet? | Globe and Mail | October 18, 2009 |
| Are the Governors Our Best Hope for the Climate? | TIME | October 2, 2009 |
| Climate Change | Salon | October 1, 2009 |
| Schwarzenegger Leads Governor's Summit on Global Warming | Christian Science Monitor | September 30, 2009 |
| Climate-Talks Deadlock May Ease After Obama, Hu Meet | Bloomberg | September 21, 2009 |
| Terry Tamminen on Reducing the Carbon Footprint | September 18, 2009 |
| Smart2BeGreen’s Hero | Santa Monica Mirror | August 6, 2009 |
| Inhofe Strikes New Tone in Current Global Warming Debate | KJRH - Tulsa | July 16, 2009 |
More:
All Press | All Related Content | Program RSS Feed
Program Staff
- Terry Tamminen
Director, Climate Policy Program; Cullman Senior Fellow
tamminen@newamerica.net
- Kristina Haddad
Senior Program Associate
haddad@newamerica.net - Jenna Cittadino
Program Associate
cittadino@newamerica.net
Building Blocks
Learn more about how states are creating effective and comprehensive climate action programs.
