UN warns again on Global Warming and the answer came from California. It passed a law to get 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045.
Today two major’s announcements were made concerning Global warmings and the withdrawal of the Trump administration from the Paris accord.
The first came from the UN that warned:
“The world could be headed for catastrophic warming if governments don’t do more to curb greenhouse gas emissions.”
The warning came from Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change: “Countries aren’t currently on track to meet the goals set in the 2015 agreement.”
The most important part of the Paris Accord is to dramatically keep global average warming below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, by lowering the CO2 emissions from all types of vehicles, power plants and manufacturing facilities.
The important part of this announcement was: “if cities, states and companies in the U.S. stick to their own individual goals set after that withdrawal, it could make up for half of the U.S.’ Paris obligation anyway.”
This came as a retaliation to the President Donald Trump announcement in June 2017 of his intention to pull the U.S. out of the Paris agreement that cannot go into effect until 2020 because of a timetable built into the deal. Also because of the EPA rejection of Obama-era ‘54.4 mpg by 2025’ automotive mandate.
The answer to the ‘If’ came from the largest state in the United States and the fifth largest economy of the world; California. The state Assembly passed legislation last week that requires the state to get 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045. The measure also increases a previous renewable energy mandate to a target of 60 percent by 2030.
California has been a leader in climate regulations for decades and earlier this year it became the first state to pass a law that will require newly built homes to have solar power, to be affected in the coming few years.
The governor of California Brown is working hard to pass another bill that would allow California’s electric grid to bring in renewable resources from neighboring states. This will capitalize on key locations where the sun shines the most and the wind will blow high. This bill is still facing apposition from different concerned groups based on the control of these facilities from outside the state.
Meanwhile the state and its governor are enjoying all the cheers from all environmental groups for the passage of the zero-carbon bill.
California is the biggest economy to pass such a bill, but not the first. The UN and the rest of world are hoping it will not be the last to set a goal for 100 percent carbon-free power. Hawaii, in 2015, did pass a similar legislation. Other states are working hard to do the same.
