SAN DIEGO, Calif. – California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) Friday invited her colleagues in the California Legislature to reaffirm the state of California’s commitment to reaching the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement that the Trump Administration withdrew the United States from Thursday, while also calling upon other states and cities to join in that effort.
“Climate change is an existential crisis and we have a moral obligation to act. I know my colleagues share that belief and I believe it’s appropriate that we reaffirm our commitment in light of President Trump’s decision yesterday. California has taken giant steps to lead the way on climate change and the policies approved by our Legislature and Governor have put the Golden State well on its way to meet the aggressive targets of the Paris Climate Agreement. California is the global leader on climate change, we will continue to lead no matter what ignorant and spiteful policies the Trump Administration tries to impose, and we invite other states and cities from across the country to join in our progress,” Assemblywoman Gonzalez Fletcher said.
The Paris Climate Change Agreement is the most ambitious effort yet to combat climate change on a global scale. The agreement, which was negotiated by former President Barack Obama and announced in December 2015, binds the nations of the world—presently excluding only the United States, Syria and Nicaragua—to a set of specific goals to halt the effects of climate change. The agreement calls for policies that endeavor to limit the temperature rise to “well below” a rise of 2.0C above pre-industrial times, with a target of 1.5C. The accord calls for the eventual of limiting greenhouse gas emissions from human activity to a level that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally between the middle and end of the century. Additionally, nations agreed to review their carbon reduction policies every five years, and wealthier nations agreed to help finance renewable energy and other climate change policies in developing nations.
