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Villaraigosa and Chiang: The Geographic Scale of Climate Change Mitigation
Submitted by Nina Emkin on December 10, 2007 - 7:48pm.
We've just heard from Mayor Villaraigosa, who gave an impassioned speech on L.A.'s role in mitigating climate change. Perhaps his most powerful message was that we must "transform imagination and ideas into reality." He reiterated that L.A. will be at 20 percent renewables by 2010, and 35 percent by 2020 - lofty goals, but achievable. At the beginning of his term as mayor, the city was at 2 percent; we're at 8 percent already.
He also talked about the Kyoto Protocol, an especially hot button issue today in light of the UN Conference in Bali. 800 mayors across America had adopted Kyoto in light of the federal administration's failure to enact any meaningful climate change legislation. He emphasized the role of cities in climate change mitigation, mentioning Chicago, New York, and Denver. He described the way cities compete with each other, driving each other to new heights of sustainability, all in the name of becoming "the greenest city in America." Which, by the way, is a title that Mayor Villaraigosa has proudly claimed for Los Angeles.
Next up was State Controller Chiang, who shined the spotlight not on cities but on the entire world as a whole. He expounded on the need for global leadership, for an economic partnership with China, specifically.
More to come....