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STATES, FIRMS TAKE INITIATIVE IN CLIMATE BATTLE
By Jane Kay
San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, July 10, 2005

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/10/MNGHADLL801.DTL

While the terrorist attacks in London took attention away from the G- 8
summit, they didn't ultimately change the predicted outcome: The world's
other big industrial nations did accede to the wishes of President Bush and
sidestepped setting targets to curb greenhouse gases linked to global
warming.

Yet, say experts, the president's outspoken opposition to mandatory cuts in
emissions is in its own way spurring some states, cities and businesses to
wean themselves from gas-belching technologies.

"I don't care what this administration in Washington does or doesn't do. The
laws of physics and nature can't be avoided forever,'' said Winston Hickox,
former head of the California Environmental Protection Agency under Gov.
Gray Davis.

"The amount of carbon in our atmosphere has been going up appreciably over
the last several decades.''

Hickox, currently portfolio manager for environmental initiatives at
CalPERS, the state public employee retirement fund, the nation's largest
pension fund, believes it's inevitable that "the whole world will eventually
come together and solve this problem.''

He is not the only state official urging and working with businesses to
invest in clean technology as California, in many ways, leads the fight
among states against global warming. Three years ago, the state Legislature
passed a law that requires the reduction of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases in vehicles by at least 20 percent starting with the 2009
models. About a dozen other states are following suit.

Last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order calling for
a further slowdown of emissions by 2010 that would return the state to the
level of emissions in 2000. By 2020, the order calls for the state to return
to 1990 levels, and by 2050, the state would be expected to reduce emissions
by 80 percent below current levels.

Governors in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and the New England
states also have supported targets.

CalPERS and the teachers' retirement fund, CalSTERS -- with a combined $300
billion in funds -- have been aggressive in pressuring companies in which
they own stock to choose business practices that reduce carbon-emissions
from manufacturing, energy generation or transportation. In March, the
organizations hosted 400 fund managers in a seminar to hear about the
benefits of investing in clean technologies. The funds represented by the
managers form a potentially powerful force, holding in the aggregate just
under $2.5 trillion in investments.

Two CalPERS trustees -- California Controller Steve Westly and state
Treasurer Phil Angelides, both Democratic candidates for governor -- have
pressured auto companies, including BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, GM, Mazda,
Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen, to comply with the state's
greenhouse gas-reduction law rather than fight it.

The car companies, which represent $838 million in fund holdings, are
members of an industry trade group putting up a legal challenge to
California's authority to regulate carbon dioxide. Only Ford, in response to
a shareholder resolution, has agreed to address some of the pension funds'
concerns.

Many businesses operating in California are taking the initiative.

More than 50 companies, cities and utilities, including BP, Pacific Gas and
Electric, Calpine, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric,
Eastman Kodak and the state's biggest mining company, U.S. Borax, have
signed on to a state-created registry that keeps tracks of their annual
emissions. They expect there eventually will be regulatory controls on
greenhouse gas emissions, and, when the time comes, will want
acknowledgement -- both from the public and from government -- of
environmental improvements.

Joel Levin, vice president for business development at the California
Climate Action Registry, said Bush's position at the summit reminds him of
the story of the "emperor with no clothes.''

"It's obvious to everyone outside the White House and the federal government
that climate change is an issue that we have to deal with it," Levin said.
"The Europeans, the states, big businesses, the investment community, banks,
insurance companies and scientists know we have to tackle it. I talk to
businesses every day, and the federal government refusing to talk about it
makes companies really nervous."

Bush, during his 2000 presidential election campaign, pledged to regulate
carbon dioxide, the gas emitted in the greatest volume from such sources as
power plants, sport utility vehicles and other heavy fossil fuel users. He
changed his mind shortly after his election.

He also announced that he would oppose the country's support of the Kyoto
Protocol, a measure now signed by the other seven members of the G-8 and
many other nations. The agreement sets target dates for emissions rollbacks.

Bush said last week that "Kyoto would have wrecked our economy'' and
contributed to a loss of jobs in the United States. The president favors
voluntary cuts and has recommended a schedule that falls far short of
targets set by Kyoto or even California.

Last week in an interview with The Chronicle, Stephen Johnson, chief of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said the agency won't ask Congress for
mandatory curbs on carbon dioxide. "There's a lot of debate over the
science,'' and there will "continue to be a debate whether global warming is
natural or manmade.''

It is a position not shared by the most prestigious scientists studying
climate change who have come to agree that a trend toward atmospheric and
oceanic warming exists, and is caused by human activities.

The buildup of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases at unprecedented
rates traps heat near Earth's surface, causing melting of glaciers and ice
packs and raising sea levels. Scientists predict wide-scale shifts in water
supplies, crop patterns, forest growth and weather events, placing human
populations and wildlife at risk.

Despite the federal government's position, the actions taken by U.S. cities
give reason to celebrate, said Michelle Wyman, executive director of the
Berkeley-based International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, a
15-year-old group formed to persuade local governments to act.

At last count, 156 municipalities across the nation have set targets for
reducing emissions, including many in the Bay Area.

By moving to renewable energy sources, replacing dirty fleets of buses and
trucks, and using efficient lighting and building materials, 70 cities have
reported verifiable reductions in greenhouse emissions, totaling a cut of
more than 23 million tons of carbon dioxide over the past year. They report
a cost saving of more than $600 million.

In that sense, Wyman said, "it's a misnomer to say that the U.S. is doing
nothing to address global warming.''

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MAYORS GATHER FOR SUNDANCE SUMMIT ON GLOBAL WARMING
July 8, 2005
ENS

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2005/2005-07-08-09.asp#anchor6

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Sunday through Tuesday, some 40 mayors from cities
large and small across the United States will gather in Salt Lake City for
the Sundance Summit where they will work on ways to curb global warming.

Hosted by actor Robert Redford, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, and the
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the
Sundance Summit was conceived to capitalize on the influence and leadership
of mayors to impact global warming.

³This is a tremendous opportunity to exchange ideas with other cities and
policy makers that have, like Boulder, taken a leadership role in addressing
greenhouse gas emissions and climate change,² said Mayor Mark Ruzzin of
Boulder, Colorado. ³I look forward to representing Boulder at the summit,
and to bringing back home tools and information that will help our community
meet its emission reduction goals.²

Speakers include former Vice President Al Gore, and New Mexico Governor Bill
Richardson, who served as Energy Secretary in the Clinton administration,
and Jean Michel Cousteau of the Ocean Futures Society.

Mayor John Hickenlooper of Denver, Mayor Greg Nickels of Seattle, and Mayor
Richard M. Daley of Chicago are among the attending mayors. Each of them has
made efforts over the past few years to limit the emission of greenhouse
gases responsible for climate warming.

Some attendees will not be U.S. mayors, but heads of other governments who
wish to benefit. Bob Gough, Intertribal Council on Utility Policy will be
there as will Vancouver, British Columbia Deputy Mayor David Cadman.

At the summit, local government executives will be encouraged to use
alternative fuels and take other measures to save money and reduce
unfriendly emissions. In Salt Lake City, for instance, a switch to
energy-saving bulbs in city facilities has resulted in savings, which the
city used to purchase clean wind power.

³Another important element of the summit will be the opportunity to network
with and strengthen the coalition of cities across the country that are
taking seriously the threat of climate change,² said Ruzzin. ³I am convinced
that over time these efforts will move the national dialogue forward on
climate change and help the United States catch up with the rest of the
world.²

ICLEI has worked for over a decade with more than 600 cities, world wide,
through their Cities for Climate Protection Campaign (CCP). In 2004, in the
U.S. alone, 147 CCP cities collectively reduced heat trapping gas emissions
by 23 million tons and realized cost savings of over $600 million.


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Published by David Sunfellow
NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
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