LA will Host Chinese, U.S. Summit to Launch Carbon Emissions Cuts

VOICES-Following up on last week's U.S.-China climate change agreement, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Friday he would invite leaders of Chinese and American cities to a summit in Los Angeles next year to kick-start efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions in both countries. 

Wrapping up the China leg of a 12-day Asia trade mission that is also scheduled to take him to Japan and South Korea, Garcetti, a member of President Obama's climate change task force, said he has discussed the idea with the White House, a number of his American counterparts and the mayors of Chinese cities including Shenzhen and Shanghai, and received an enthusiastic response. 

[I]t's kind of a no-brainer to do [the summit] in LA ... Cities are the source of the problem and must be the solution.- Mayor Eric Garcetti 

The bilateral conference of city leaders could have landed anywhere, Garcetti said in Beijing after addressing a "clean tech" business matchmaking event. But the timing of his trip means "LA is well-positioned" to host such an event, he said. 

Obama last week committed the U.S. to cutting net greenhouse gas emissions at least 26% by 2025. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, meanwhile, announced an accelerated time frame for capping carbon emissions and increasing China's use of nuclear, wind and solar energy. 

Limiting carbon emissions in large part means controlling emissions in cities, Garcetti said. Given Los Angeles' track record in tackling its smog problem, "it's kind of a no-brainer to do [the summit] in LA … Cities are the source of the problem and must be the solution," he said.  (Read the rest here.) 

-cw

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 12 Issue 95

Pub: Nov 25, 2014