The Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (FUNAI) in Ebonyi State on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 carried out a fresh round round of tree planting exercise to promote eco-friendliness, guard against environmental degradation, provide edible fruits for staff and students, and ensure total greening and aesthetic beauty of the University environment.
The VC of FUNAI, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba (with coconut tree), addressing some students before the start of the tree planting exercise
This was part of the activities lined up for the students’ week, in respect of which the final year students of the university gave their full support to the Campus Greening Initiative of the University Management by donating some of the fruit trees that were planted in the event.
Speaking during the campaign, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, explained that investment in nature as carried out by the final year students is a long term one, which its value may even outlive the donor, since trees have a long life span.
“You may not know the importance of what you are doing here today until you come here in years to come with your children during their matriculation or convocation ceremony.
“Then you will know you have actually invested in nature,” the Vice Chancellor told the final year students who donated some trees as part of their contribution to the greening effort of the University Management.
Earlier, the Technical Officer, Horticulture and Landscaping Services, Mrs Celestina Adebayo, explained that the activity was part of the systematic campus greening programme of the university aimed at enhancing the campus beauty, ensuring aggressive afforestation of the university, combating environmental degradation caused by soil erosion and mitigating the challenges of climatic change in the institution.
Trees such as kola nuts, (coco musifera), coconut and other types of fruit trees were planted during the event by both staff and students.
World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Anthony Joshua, is set to embark on a three-day visit to Nigeria in August, 2017.
Anthony Joshua
During the visit, he will pay courtesy calls on Acting President Yomi Osinbajo and the Governors of Lagos and Ogun states, Akinwunmi Ambode and Ibikunle Amosun respectively.
He will also visit some royal fathers including the Ooni of Ife, the Awujale of Ijebu-Ode and the Oba of Lagos, and attend a charity boxing match.
He will also inspire Nigerians at the Eko Hotel in Lagos and the Transcorp Hotel in Abuja, where he would take questions from the audience.
Organiser of the 3- tour, Kumeni Bukari, said in a statement that arrangement have been concluded for the home coming of the boxing champion.
Meanwhile, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is set to make a return to the boxing ring on August 26, 2017. Mayweather will take on mixed martial arts icon, Korner McGregor, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The bout has been touted to be one of the most brutal fights in the history of boxing.
In order to stop racism at match venues, the world football ruling body, FIFA, has given powers to referees to stop and abandon games, if they witness any discrimination from fans.
This move is expected to commence in this year’s Confederation Cup and FIFA will deploy anti-discrimination observers to venues.
The measure, according to FIFA, is part of its “three-step procedure” which gives officials the power to stop, suspend and then call off fixtures over fan behavior.
“These are ground – breaking changes in the fight against discrimination.
“Both initiatives are extra tools for the referees and match officials, to prevent discriminatory attitudes and ensure that the atmosphere in the stadium is one of Fair Play and respect,” explained FIFA President, Gianni Infantino.
The 2017 Confederation Cup is the 10th edition of the international tournament, which is contested by the holders of the six regional championships, along with the World Cup holder and the host nation.
As hosts of the 2018 World Cup, Russia will also host the 2017 event.
FIFA’s game observers are a continuation of the monitoring system it put in place for 2018 World Cup qualifiers and selected friendlies.
Around one in six older people experience some form of abuse, a figure higher than previously estimated and predicted to rise as populations age worldwide.
A group of elderly people
A new study, supported by the Word Health Organisation (WHO) and published in the Lancet Global Health, has found that almost 16% of people aged 60 years and older were subjected to psychological abuse (11.6%), financial abuse (6.8%), neglect (4.2%), physical abuse (2.6%) or sexual abuse (0.9%). The research draws on the best available evidence from 52 studies in 28 countries from different regions, including 12 low- and middle-income countries.
“The abuse of older people is on the rise; for the 141 million older people worldwide this has serious individual and societal costs,” says Alana Officer, Senior Health Adviser, Department of Ageing and Life Course at WHO. “We must do much more to prevent and respond to the increasing frequency of different forms of abuse.”
Elder abuse and health
Awareness about elder abuse, still largely a taboo topic, has started to increase across the world. It is defined as actions or lack of appropriate action which can cause harm or distress to an older person, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust. All types of elder abuse can have an impact on the health and wellbeing of the older person.
Psychological abuse is the most pervasive and includes behaviours that harm an older person’s self-worth or wellbeing such as name calling, scaring, embarrassing, destroying property or preventing them from seeing friends and family.
Financial abuse includes illegally misusing an older person’s money, property or assets. Neglect includes the failure to meet an older person’s basic needs, such as food, housing, clothing and medical care.
Health effects of abuse include traumatic injury and pain, as well as depression, stress and anxiety. Elder abuse can lead to an increased risk of nursing home placement, use of emergency services, hospitalisation and death.
“Despite the frequency and the serious health consequences, elder abuse remains one of the least investigated types of violence in national surveys, and one of the least addressed in national plans to prevent violence,” Ms Officer adds.
By 2050 the number of people aged 60 and over will double to reach two billion globally, with the vast majority of older people living in low- and middle-income countries. If the proportion of elder abuse victims remains constant, the number of people affected will increase rapidly due to population ageing, growing to 320 million victims by 2050.
“Elder abuse is rarely discussed in policy circles, less prioritised for research and addressed by only a handful of organisations,” notes Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO Department for the Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention. “Governments must protect all people from violence. We must work to shed light on this important societal challenge, understand how best to prevent it, and help put in place the measures needed.”
Global strategy and action plan
In May 2016, Ministers of Health adopted the WHO Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health at the World Health Assembly. The Strategy provides guidance for coordinated action in countries that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Priority actions for elder abuse in the Strategy include:
improving studies on the frequency of elder abuse particularly in low- and middle-income countries from South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa, for which there is little data
collecting evidence and developing guidance on what works to effectively prevent and respond to elder abuse. As a first step, governments need to evaluate existing efforts, such as training for care givers and use of telephone helplines, and to publish these findings
supporting countries to prevent and respond to elder abuse
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 66/127, designated June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. It represents the one day in the year when the whole world voices its opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted to some of our older generations.
Some 54,000 students from 2,750 secondary schools across the Nigeria are competing for honours in the 19th edition of the NNPC/Shell Cup now holding at centres in 36 states of the Federation including Abuja, in the biggest youth football championship in Nigeria.
L-R: Social Performance Advisor, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Hope Nuka; Social Performance Advisor, Ibukun Adewale; Non- Technical Risk Manager, Adebanji Adekoya; former Super Eagles striker and CEO, Worldwide Sports, Chief Olusegun Odegbami and Chairman Sports Writers Association, Oyo State Chapter, Niyi Alebiosu, at a press conference to announce the commencement of the 2017 edition of the NNPC/Shell Cup, at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos… recently
“This is another opportunity for young football talents to develop their dreams while still studying, and another platform for Nigeria to tap into a potential pool of top-class players,” said Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) and Country Chair Shell Companies in Nigeria.
NNPC/Shell Cup 2017 began with the preliminaries in May with state competitions which were concluded early June, paving the way for the zonal stage and quarter finals. Coaches from the current Dutch League champion, Feyenoord Rotterdam, will hold coaching clinics as part of the process for the semi-final and final matches which are planned for end June. Feyenoord Rotterdam is expected to improve the skills of the coaches, games masters and players bringing to bear their award-winning global youth football academy programme.
A total of N8.2 million will be awarded for the development of sports facilities in the top four schools with the 1st place winner receiving N3.5 million. In addition, the two Most Valuable Players will head to The Netherlands for a short stint with the Feyenoord Rotterdam Youth Academy. And, on completion of secondary education, the top 10 talents will be eligible to compete for NNPC/Shell university undergraduate scholarships.
Former Nigerian international and NNPC/Shell Cup consultant, Segun Odegbami, said: “Aside the monetary rewards, many young footballers have been discovered through this championship and they have gone on to represent the country in age-group football tournaments. Several have graduated to the Under-23 team and then on to the Super Eagles level. Professional clubs in Nigeria and overseas have often used the platform of the NNPC/Shell Cup to scout for talents for their teams. In a way, everybody is a winner in this football tournament.”
The NNPC/Shell Cup tournament was initiated in 1998 by the SPDC Joint Venture comprising the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria, and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company. A notable success in the 19 years of the tournament is the reduction in the number of students who have successfully combined their education even as they prepare for a rewarding career in football.
The announcement by the President of the United States in June 2017 that the US would withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement appears to have sparked a lot of interest in how a Party can withdraw, should they decide to do so. In this piece, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), attempts to clarify the basic process, while promising to update relevant information subject to developments
Jubilation greeted the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015 in Paris, France. Photo credit: unfccc.int
A Party to the Paris Agreement is free to withdraw and the Agreement sets out the following steps and timelines for this:
Article 28 of the Agreement states that: 1) “At any time after three years from the date on which this Agreement has entered into force for a Party, that Party may withdraw from this Agreement by giving written notification to the Depositary”.
It also states that: 2) “Any such withdrawal shall take effect upon expiry of one year from the date of receipt by the Depositary of the notification of withdrawal, or on such later date as may be specified in the notification of withdrawal.”
The earliest date that a Party may withdraw by giving written notification is any time from November 4, 2019 – this is the case for those who were already in when the Paris Agreement entered into force on November 4, 2016.
The Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations, based at United Nations Headquarters in New York, discharges the functions of the Depositary and is the only office that deals with withdrawals from the Paris Agreement and receives written notifications of withdrawal.
Until a withdrawal becomes effective, the Party remains in the Paris Agreement and continues to fully participate in all activities under it.
A withdrawal may also be revoked before it becomes effective. And, of course, if a Party withdraws they are welcome to re-join: the door is always open.
Indonesian authorities have seized a haul of hundreds of critically endangered pangolins and scales worth $190,000, officials said on Wednesday, June 14, 2017.
Pangolins
The authorities say they arrested two suspected wildlife smugglers after a raid on a port warehouse in Sumatra uncovered more than 200 pangolins, many of them dead from stress and dehydration.
Ministry of Environment and Forestry official Halasan Tulus said on Wednesday that only 110 of the 225 pangolins found in the raid by navy personnel at Belawan port in Medan were alive. Bags of pangolin scales were also reportedly discovered.
He said two men were arrested. The scaly anteaters, a perennial victim of wildlife trafficking, were destined for Malaysia and worth about 2.5 billion rupiah ($190,000).
Two dozen of the dead animals had already been skinned, according to Tulus.
All eight sub-species of the vulnerable creature have been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The reclusive mammals hold the undesireable title of being the most poached and illegally trafficked mammal in the world. The Pangolin Specialist Group, backed by the Zoological Society of London, estimated that more than a million pangolins have been stolen from the wild in the last decade.
Pangolin’s keratin scales are sometimes used in the production of traditional medicine and illegal drugs, and its meat is consumed at a high price in parts of Asia and Africa.
The Nigeria Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said that there are misrepresentations and inaccuracies in some sections of the media arising from publications based on its recent presentation at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Waziri Adio
The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee had invited NEITI to its public hearing held on the Thursday, June 8, 2017 on alleged $17 billion undeclared crude oil and liquefied natural gas exports to global destinations.
But NEITI said in a statement on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 that it was misquoted or misrepresented by certain publications on the facts it presented to the Committee on the revenue losses to the federation due to crude oil theft and unremitted funds to the federation.
The transparency and accountability organisation therefore, for record purposes, restated what it calls the facts as was presented to the Committee by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Waziri Adio.
At the hearing, Mr. Adio identified the major sources of revenue losses to the federation to include:
Unremitted NLNG dividends and loan repayments. On this issue, NEITI stated that “The NNPC, as custodian of Nigeria’s shares in the NLNG, received Nigeria’s share of NLNG dividends paid to the corporation for 15 years amounting to $15.8 billion between years 2000 and 2014. However, NEITI reports disclosed that NNPC failed to remit the proceeds to either the Federation Account or the federal government”. From the presentation, NLNG paid the dividends to NNPC but NEITI has no evidence that NNPC remitted the funds to the Federation Account. It is therefore incorrect to report, as some publications did, that NLNG owes the federation.
Crude oil theft. NEITI told the Committee that the total revenue losses to the federation as a result of crude oil theft, deferred production and sabotage between 2011 and 2014 stood at $15.9 billion. The breakdown of the figures is shown below:
Summary of federation volume and value of export crude oil losses from 2011-2014
YEAR
VOLUME (MILLION BARRELS)
VALUE ($)BILLION
2011
38.6
4.4
2012
23.8
2.7
2013
37.7
4.7
2014
40.2
4.1
TOTAL
140.3
15.9
Federation Assets held by the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC): The NEITI Audit reports showed that NPDC failed to remit the sum of $5.5 billion and N72.4 billion comprising of outstanding payments for the OMLs divested to it, cash calls paid by NNPC to the NPDC for already divested assets and legacy liabilities.
Oil SWAP and Off-shore Processing Agreements: Based on its reports findings, NEITI told the Committee that the Off-shore Processing Agreements (OPAs) and the oil swaps resulted in the loss of product value equivalent to $518 million in 2013 and $198.7 million in 2014.
Expired MoUs. NEITI identified the existence of expired MoUs as another source of revenue loss to the federation. In its presentation to the Committee, NEITI pointed out that the expired agreements have led to under-assessment of government’s share of oil revenue. As a result, the revenue loss to the federation stood at $599 million in year 2013 alone.
The statement, endorsed by Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Director, Communications, reads: “In view of the foregoing, NEITI wishes to reiterate that there is a difference between revenues already earned but not remitted to the Federation Account and value of losses in revenues that the country would have earned if crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, deferred production and sabotage were checked. Therefore merging the value of losses due to crude oil theft with that of unremitted funds as was presented in some sections of the media was wrong and misleading. Equally so is reporting that NLNG owes the federation or that money not accounted for was stolen.
“While appreciating the contributions of the media and its support to the NEITI process, we plead for deeper engagement with NEITI to seek clarifications where necessary to get the facts and the numbers right.”
Apple Inc., which issued the biggest green bond ever sold by a U.S. corporation last year to finance projects fighting global warming, is doing it again.
Tim Cook, Apple CEO
On Tuesday, June 23, 2017 the iPhone maker issued a $1 billion green bond to fund renewable energy generation. It builds on $1.5 billion worth of bonds the Cupertino, California-based company sold a year ago to further its goal of running 100 percent of its operations on renewable energy.
While companies in recent years have issued tens of billions of dollars in green bonds for projects that cut global-warming emissions, the size of Apple’s first issuance fueled speculation that other companies would follow. Its latest one comes less than two weeks after President Donald Trump decided to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, an international pact to curb greenhouse-gas emissions signed by almost 200 countries.
“Leadership from the business community is essential to address the threat of climate change,” Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, said in the statement. The company was among those that signed an open letter pledging to continue supporting efforts to meet the Paris agreement, and Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said last week that he sought to persuade the president not to withdraw.
Renewable Energy
Apple’s latest bonds, maturing in 2027, will yield 95 to 100 basis points more than Treasuries, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named because the deal is private. They are expected to be rated Aa1, the person said.
The sale was arranged by Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Apple said it plans to use the proceeds to finance projects involving renewable energy resources and energy efficiency, among other things. The latest bond offering includes a focus on advancing Apple’s goal of a closed-loop supply chain, through which products are made using only renewable resources and recycled material.
The debt issuance means Apple doesn’t have to tap its vast offshore cash reserves to fund its renewables projects. The company is investing in solar energy, hydroelectric plants and biogas facilities in Oregon, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona and California, including $850 million on a 130-megawatt solar farm near San Francisco over the next quarter century, and has received permission to sell power to the wholesale energy markets.
Even with cash and equivalents totaling $257 billion, Apple has issued debt totaling $99 billion to fund stock buybacks and dividends, because most of that money is held outside the U.S. and would be subject to a 35 percent corporate income tax if it were repatriated.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) is an industry research firm focused on helping energy professionals generate opportunities. With a team of experts spread across six continents, BNEF provides independent analysis and insight, enabling decision-makers to navigate change in an evolving energy economy.
Production of the fossil fuel dropped by a record amount in 2016, according to BP Plc’s annual review of global energy trends. China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, burned the least coal in six years and use dropped in the U.S to a level last seen in the 1970s, the company’s data show.
As global demand for and production of coal drops, U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to revive the fossil fuel
Coal, the most polluting fuel that was once the world’s fastest growing energy source, has been a target of countries and companies alike as the world begins to work toward the goals of the Paris climate agreement. Consumption is falling as the world’s biggest energy companies promote cleaner-burning natural gas, China’s economy evolves to focus more on services than heavy manufacturing and renewable energy like wind and solar becomes cheaper.
“The fortunes of coal appear to have taken a decisive break from the past,” BP’s Chief Economist Spencer Dale said at a briefing in London on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. The most important outcome of this “is carbon emissions, which saw little or no growth for a third consecutive year.”
The shift away from coal in most of the world’s major economies comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to revive the fuel, having promised during his election campaign to restore lost jobs in mining areas such as West Virginia. Coal’s decline has been driven largely by competition from cheap shale gas, prompting skepticism that the country’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement will do much to halt the slide.
U.S. demand for coal fell by 33.4 million tons of oil equivalent last year to 358.4 million, the biggest decline in the world in absolute terms, BP data show.
Global consumption dropped 1.7 percent last year compared with an average 1.9 percent yearly increase from 2005 to 2015, according to BP. China, which accounted for about half of the coal burned in the world, used 1.6 percent less of the fuel, compared with an average 3.7 percent annual expansion in the 11 preceding years.
“At the heart of this shift are structural, long-term factors,” Dale said. These include “the increasing availability and competitiveness of natural gas and renewable energy, combined with mounting government and societal pressure to shift away from coal towards cleaner, lower-carbon fuels.”
Consumption of coal fell in every continent except Africa, the BP data show. Germany, Europe’s biggest user, consumed 4.3 percent less coal. U.K. demand fell 52.5 percent, the biggest percentage decline among the world’s major economies, according to BP’s data.
In Asia, China’s decline was partially offset by higher consumption in India and Indonesia, where the fuel is still so cheap and readily available that utilities prefer it over natural gas for electricity generation.
“Chinese hunger for energy is being tempered by moves to a more sustainable growth pathway and the rapid expansion of renewables, which spells even further trouble for coal in the years to come,” Jonathan Marshall, an analyst at the London-based Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said by email.
Global carbon emissions, which grew at an annual average rate of about 2.5 percent in the 10 years to 2013, remained stagnant in the past three years, Dale said. While some of this reflects weaker economic growth, the majority reflects faster declines in “the average amount of carbon emitted per unit of GDP,” he said.
Still, there needs to be a “significant fall” in emissions in order to meet the Paris climate goals, Dale said.
The world consumed 1.6 percent more oil last year, with India’s use expanding 7.8 percent, or 325,000 barrels a day, and China’s 3.3 percent, according to the data. Demand from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of industrialised nations, grew 0.9 percent in 2016, compared with an average annual decline of 0.9 percent over the previous decade.
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. was on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 named Special Advisor for States and Regions ahead of this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) by Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama – incoming president of COP23 – at a ceremony where Fiji became the latest government to join the Under2 Coalition.
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama (siting) with California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. (right), Oregon Governor Kate Brown (third right) and Washington Governor Jay Inslee (second right)
Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Washington Governor Jay Inslee – members of the Under2 Coalition and U.S. Climate Alliance – also attended the ceremony and announced that they too will attend the COP23 in Bonn, Germany to represent subnational jurisdictions committed to climate action.
“California is proud to partner with Fiji, an island nation that is experiencing firsthand the impacts of climate change and this year is the leader of the UN Conference of Parties,” said Governor Jerry Brown. “I look forward to taking the next step later this year with Governor Kate Brown and Governor Jay Inslee when we join Prime Minister Bainimarama in Bonn to show that states and regions will fulfill the Paris commitment.”
The Under2 Coalition is an international pact among cities, states and countries committed to limiting the increase in global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius – the level of potentially catastrophic consequences – by either reducing their greenhouse gas emissions from 80 percent to 95 percent below 1990 levels or holding emissions to less than two annual metric tons per capita by 2050.
With the addition of Fiji, the coalition now includes 176 jurisdictions on six continents collectively representing more than 36 countries, 1.2 billion people and $28.8 trillion GDP – equivalent to over 16 percent of the global population and over 39 percent of the global economy.
“As the incoming President of COP23, Fiji looks forward to working with this group of states and regions in the global effort to advance climate action at every level of society. This is true now more than ever following the Trump Administration’s announcement that the U.S. will be withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. This decision has redoubled our commitment to forge a Grand Coalition that includes all levels of government, businesses and civil society, to take climate action forward with the urgency it deserves,” said Prime Minister Bainimarama. “We look forward to Governor Brown’s help in mobilising like-minded leaders from around the world in support of our goal to achieve concrete outcomes at COP23.”
The coalition was formed in 2015 by the states of California and Baden-Württemberg, Germany to mobilise and galvanise bold climate action from like-minded city, state and regional governments around the globe in the lead up to COP 21.
While the majority of Under2 Coalition members represent subnational jurisdictions, with the addition Fiji, a total of 15 nations are part of the global pact, including Sweden, Mexico and Canada which joined in April and Denmark, which signed on earlier this month at a ceremony in Beijing. Eighteen U.S. jurisdictions have joined the coalition, representing nearly one-third of America’s population and GDP.
At Wednesday’s ceremony, Washington Governor Inslee and Oregon Governor Brown also announced that they would attend COP 23 as part of a delegation of U.S. governors that have joined the U.S. Climate Alliance, a partnership formed in response to the White House’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord.
The alliance now includes 13 U.S. states – led by both Democrats and Republicans – committed to achieving the U.S. goal of reducing emissions 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels and meeting or exceeding the targets of the federal Clean Power Plan. The U.S. Climate Alliance complements the goals of the Under2 Coalition, which nine climate alliance members have also joined.
“The ‘America First’ doctrine should put our children first. Future generations will judge us not on the facts of global climate change, but what we’ve done to tackle it. Strengthening the commitment to combat climate change sends a strong message to our global allies. The Paris Agreement is a blueprint from job creation and prosperity, and despite the decision by the White House to retreat, I will continue to work with leaders on the West Coast, across the country, and around the world in pursuit of greenhouse gas reduction goals and working toward the development of a greener, cleaner energy mix of the future,” said Oregon Governor Kate Brown.
“The growing momentum for national and subnational collaboration gives me confidence about our ability to defeat climate change. This is an all-comers race against time, and I’m proud that Washington State is racing shoulder-to-shoulder with our West Coast neighbours, and our neighbors around the globe,” said U.S. Climate Alliance co-chair Governor Inslee.
California’s legislative leaders, Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, share a strong commitment to climate action and also joined today’s event.
“Here in California we have been leaders in developing the green economy that is proving that a healthy environment and good jobs can go hand in hand. We also recognise in California that climate change affects the quality of life and the public health in all our communities and in all countries around the world, so our climate actions must benefit all communities and all countries. Ignoring or denying climate change is beyond reckless,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.
“We stand united in our resolve to act on climate and build a clean energy future. And today we are sending a clear message to the rest of the world that if Washington won’t lead, we will,” said Senate Leader Kevin de León.
California’s Climate Leadership
The announcement comes on the heels of Governor Brown’s meeting last week with Germany’s top environmental official, Minister Barbara Hendricks in San Francisco and the Governor’s week-long California-China Climate Mission to strengthen California’s long-standing climate and clean energy ties with China. The Governor held bilateral meetings – including with President Xi Jinping and China’s Special Envoy on Climate Change – and signed new agreements with China’s national government through the Ministry of Science and Technology in Beijing and with the leaders of Sichuan and Jiangsu provinces.
While the federal government moves to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, California, the sixth-largest economy in the world, continues to advance its nation-leading climate goals while also growing its economy faster than the rest of the United States. In the past seven years, California has created 2.3 million new jobs, cut its unemployment rate in half, eliminated a $27 billion budget deficit and boosted its credit rating to the highest level in more than a decade.
In March, Governor Brown reaffirmed California’s commitment to exceed the targets of the Clean Power Plan and the state’s efforts to curb carbon pollution, which include establishing the most ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in North America and the nation’s toughest restrictions on destructive super pollutants. The Governor has also signed legislation that directs cap-and-trade funds to greenhouse gas reducing programs which benefit disadvantaged communities, support clean transportation and protect natural ecosystems.
This action builds on landmark legislation the Governor signed in October 2015 to generate half of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and double the rate of energy efficiency savings in California buildings. Governor Brown has also committed to reducing today’s petroleum use in cars and trucks by up to 50 percent within the next 15 years; make heating fuels cleaner; and manage farm and rangelands, forests and wetlands so they can store carbon.
The Governor has also traveled to the United Nations’ 2015 Climate Conference (COP21) in Paris, the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Vatican and the Climate Summit of the Americas in Toronto, Canada to call on other leaders to join California in the fight against climate change. These efforts build on a number of other international climate change agreements with leaders from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Mexico, China, North America, Japan, Israel, Peru, Chile, Australia, Scotland, Sweden and Germany as well as Governor Brown’s efforts to gather hundreds of researchers and scientists around a groundbreaking call to action called the consensus statement, which translates key scientific climate findings from disparate fields into one unified document.
Sources say the impacts of climate change are already being felt in California and will disproportionately impact the state’s most vulnerable populations.
