{"id":12150,"date":"2018-10-04t12:04:34","date_gmt":"2018-10-04t12:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/star-studded-global-climate-summit-mobilizes-action-plans\/"},"modified":"2023-03-07t19:39:34","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07t19:39:34","slug":"global-climate-summit-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/global-climate-summit-action\/","title":{"rendered":"star-studded global climate summit mobilizes action plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

by aaron dorman<\/strong><\/p>\n

if climate activists and local governments can\u2019t work with washington on climate change, they plan to work around it. mo<\/a>re <\/a>than 300 u.s. cities<\/a> including chicago, new york, and los angeles have vowed to uphold the paris agreement \u2013 bypassing the trump administration\u2019s intention to withdraw. and now dozens of cities worldwide made or renewed commitments moving toward zero carbon emissions by 2030 at a global climate summit in san francisco in mid-september.<\/p>\n

against the backdrop of deadly hurricane florence and accelerating climate change, hundreds of leaders in government and business are taking solutions into their own hands. they came to the global climate action summit<\/a>, which featured a series of events in the bay area to mobilize efforts that could put the planet on a path toward lower (or zero) carbon emissions to avoid the worst effects of global warming. a wide range of players \u2014 from indigenous groups focused on preserving forests, to billionaire investors committed to financing a transition away from carbon fuels \u2014 committed to more than 500 action steps during the summit.<\/p>\n

thousands of delegates, speakers, and reporters convened in calls to action by some of the most prominent figures in the environmental movement \u2013 former new york city mayor michael bloomberg, former vice president and \u201cinconvenient truth\u201d author al gore, naturalist and animal rights activist jane goodall, and actor-turned-environmentalist harrison ford, currently vice chair of conservation international\u2019s board of directors.<\/p>\n

\u201ccities are where it\u2019s happening,\u201d al gore said during a kick-off event hosted by the c40 cities climate leadership group. \u201ccities are where the solutions are being found. for reasons i don\u2019t fully understand, but some of you may, cities are far more responsive and creative in finding policy solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cyou wouldn\u2019t know it from reading the headlines that we are making progress,\u201d said bloomberg, a co-chair and one of the main organizers of the summit. \u201cthe headlines focus on the political fights in washington. but the real action is happening in cities, states, and the private sector. and the good news is those groups are positioning the united states to uphold our end of the paris agreement no matter what happens in washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

bloomberg and california governor jerry brown, among others, spoke of the urgency of the climate crisis at the main summit plenary events on thursday and friday. the summit focused on ways to aid and inform the parallel climate negotiations of the unfccc (united nations framework convention on climate change). the calls to action focused on five key areas that cities and regions could undertake to bypass inaction by parent governments: healthy energy systems, inclusive economic growth, sustainable communities, land and ocean stewardship, and transformative climate investments.<\/p>\n

\u201csince the white house announced its intention to withdraw from the paris agreement, more than 3,000 u.s. cities, states, businesses, and other groups have declared their commitment to the paris agreement,\u201d wrote brown and bloomberg in a los angeles times op-ed<\/a> during the summit. \u201ctogether, these groups form the third-largest economy in the world, and they represent more than half the total u.s. population. they have been ramping up actions to cut carbon pollution and move toward the goals in the paris agreement, just as the rest of the world is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

summit leaders view inaction at the top acute in the united states, where president donald trump\u2019s administration has vowed to back out of the paris agreement while threatening to undermine the clean air act and roll back president barack obama\u2019s clean power agenda.<\/p>\n

bloomberg set the tone by stressing that solving climate change was an economic opportunity. \u201ccalifornia is a great example of how fighting climate change and growing the economy grow hand in hand,\u201d bloomberg said. \u201cthat\u2019s something we also saw in nyc. we created a record number of jobs while at the same time reducing our carbon footprint by 19 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n

some of the major new commitments announced during the summit include:<\/p>\n