Bonn, Germany - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today rallied city, state and regional leaders at the largest gathering on global subnational climate action at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany.
“We come to this Conference of the Parties to strengthen our resolve, to meet our counterparts all over the world and join together to build a powerful constituency,” said COP23 Special Advisor for States and Regions Governor Brown during opening remarks at the ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability Climate Summit of Local and Regional Leaders, attended by hundreds. “We can’t just wait for our national leaders - we need to take action together.”
Today's summit was co-hosted by the City of Bonn and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, with support from the German Federal Government.
Later, the Governor joined fellow Pacific Coast Collaborative members, Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Washington Governor Jay Inslee, to discuss West Coast climate action on a panel moderated by European Climate Foundation CEO Laurence Tubiana and organized by The Climate Group.
Additionally, Governor Brown gave keynote remarks at a forum focused on clean energy hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an intergovernmental organization that promotes renewable resources and technologies as the key to a sustainable future.
Capping off the day’s events, Governor Brown and Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), on behalf of the State of California, accepted the United Nations Environment Programme’s Climate and Clean Air Coalition award for outstanding policy, which recognizes air quality improvement and short-lived climate pollutant reduction policies that are bold and transformative. Last year, Governor Brown signed SB 1383 by Senator Lara, which established the nation's toughest restrictions on destructive super pollutants, including black carbon, fluorinated gases and methane.
The Governor also met with Minister-President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet as well as with Germany’s Secretary for Economic Affairs and Energy Rainer Baake to discuss how California and Germany can continue to expand collaboration and their commitment to climate action.
Tomorrow in Bonn, Governor Brown will: deliver opening remarks at a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) event highlighting climate action from businesses, civil society and states and regions; join U.S. Climate Alliance members in the UNFCCC Bonn Zone for a moderated discussion on U.S. state-driven climate leadership; speak on a panel hosted by Sustainable Energy for All, the Global Covenant of Mayors and the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport on how cities and states can debcarbonize energy and transport; preview next September’s 2018 Global Climate Action Summit in California; and participate in a panel discussion with climate leaders representing British Columbia, Ontario and Mexico’s national government organized by the Climate Action Reserve.
Yesterday in Bonn, Governor Brown joined Michael R. Bloomberg, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, to reaffirm the commitment of America's states, cities and businesses to the Paris Agreement and later welcomed Virginia to the Under2 Coalition at a signing ceremony with Governor Terry McAuliffe.
Last week, in Oslo, Governor Brown met with Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg and convened a first-of-its-kind meeting with representatives of the world's leading independent national academies of science to review climate impacts and discuss how scientists and policymakers can more effectively translate research findings into meaningful action. In Brussels, Belgium, Governor Brown delivered opening remarks at a high-level conference on clean energy organized by the European Parliament and European Commission, met with the president of the European Parliament and the European Union's top representatives at COP23, joined members of the European Parliament's top climate and environmental committee and the leaders of the Parliament's political parties for an extensive discussion on opportunities for further collaboration on climate action, and highlighted California's local and global efforts to fight climate change at an event organized by the German Marshall Fund. In Stuttgart, Germany, the Governor also met with Under2 Coalition co-founder Baden- Württemberg's Minister-President and delivered remarks before the state parliament. Last weekend, Governor Brown delivered keynote remarks at a symposium on climate change hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican.
