Governors
There's a group of Governors from both political parties who are America's climate action leaders. From their executive position, they have led their states -- from South Carolina to Montana, from Florida to California -- to develop comprehensive climate action plans. The fact that America has any political progress to show on global warming is thanks to them. In the absence of federal action, they have acted unilaterally within their state borders, and have proved three surprising things:
It is possible to develop climate solutions that are acceptable to all stakeholders -- from coal utility execs to treehuggers.
It is possible to immediately start reducing greenhouse gas emissions and make dramatic reductions over time.
It is possible to do so while bringing a net benefit to the state economy worth billions of dollars and creating thousands of new jobs.
These Governors have more than a thing or two to teach Washington. They also want to make sure, as Congress develops federal climate law, that they have a say-so in what the law looks like and how it works, especially because it is going to be the states and cities that have to do the work on the ground to make it work. But this much is crystal clear. The Governors want a strong national climate law to support, strengthen and surpass what they have already been able to do in their states and regions. Click here for a state-by-state snapshot.
These governors are showing what national leadership on global warming is. A most telling example: automobile fuel efficiency. The states took the lead.
Fuel Economy Standards
California, followed by a dozen other states, adopted clean air measures that would have forced automakers to improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles. The response? The states got socked with a lawsuit from the auto industry. But many years and now two definitive court rulings later (Supreme Court: Massachusetts v EPA and US District Court, Vermont), the states are prevailing. It means they've paved the way for Congress to pass a fuel economy measure, and no doubt, Washington will try to take all the credit.
Cap on Emissions
No matter. The governors have been frying other big fish, too. Take the emissions from generating electricity. They account for about a third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US. Since way back in 2003, governors from New England and mid-Atlantic states have been working hard to design a regional system to cap the emissions. And in 2007, six western states and two Canadian provinces embarked on a similar initiative, only even more ambitious. The Western Climate Initiative is aiming to impose a cap on emissions not only from power plants, but across the entire regional economy.
Comprehensive Climate Plans
The national strength of governors show most clearly when they work together, but equally important has been their individual efforts. Many states in their own right have an economic output greater than most countries on the planet. California has the 7th largest economy in the world, right behind France.
Almost half the states have developed or are in the process of developing comprehensive climate action plans. Some of the most notable: California, of course, and its climate law, AB32. Arizona's plan, a demonstration of what even America's highest growth state can do, without hurting its economy, but actually helping it. Ditto for New Mexico and Colorado.
Make no mistake. This is not a liberal Democratic, coastal phenomenon. Republican Governor Charlie Crist of Florida has become a climate champion. Even the reliable libertarian, Republican Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina, has articulated the case for climate action from the conservative perspective.
