As the world\u2019s eighth-largest economy, California is often cited as an international example of what is possible on climate, alongside powerhouses like Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCalifornia definitely is in a leadership role, and has been for quite a long time,\u201d said Richard Kinley, a top official with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is the forum for the Paris conference. The state, he added, has \u201ca lot of opportunity\u201d to work with other jurisdictions to push for climate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the state is a global model for climate policy, however, it also produces more greenhouse gas emissions per person than almost anywhere else in the world, due partly to its heavy reliance on cars. Among the eight largest economies, California is second only to the U.S. in emissions per capita.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Greenhouse](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/emissions_gdp_1-1.png?ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Greenhouse gases per capita<\/p>\n View More<\/p>\n \ud398\uc774\uc2a4\ubd81<\/a> Transportation is the largest single source of California\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 37 percent of the state\u2019s total<\/a>. For most of the world\u2019s large economies, the most polluting sector is electricity and heat, according to data from World Resources Institute<\/a>, a nonprofit research organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n California fares better compared to other major economies in terms of the emissions intensity of its economy \u2014 meaning that its emissions are relatively low per unit of economic output. But Severin Borenstein, an energy expert at UC Berkeley\u2019s Haas School of Business, said that measure can be misleading because California imports many items that are manufactured elsewhere, effectively outsourcing the carbon-intensive activities to other nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you count \u2026 greenhouse gases per-capita or per dollar of GDP, I think it\u2019s too early to claim California is a real leader,\u201d Borenstein said. \u201cCalifornia\u2019s leadership is in recognizing the problem, and in starting to propose and investigate real solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s what California leaders will be emphasizing when they arrive at the Paris conference with perhaps the biggest state delegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal of the Paris conference, running from November 30th to December 11th, is to produce a global pact that describes what the world, and each nation, will do to cut emissions and slow global warming. The conference is continuing despite the recent terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n California will have no negotiating role. But state officials will ensure that federal negotiators hear their views, and they will showcase California at the innumerable climate action panels and meetings that happen alongside the negotiations. Brown plans to meet with officials from a number of countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Paris Conference<\/p>\n View More<\/p>\n \ud398\uc774\uc2a4\ubd81<\/a> Going into the Paris conference, \u201cwe\u2019re concerned that the international effort is insufficiently ambitious \u2014 that it\u2019s going to come up short,\u201d said Ken Alex, a senior policy advisor to Brown. California has a major stake in climate action, due to concerns about rising sea levels, shrinking snow packs, wildfires and drought, Alex said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its lobbying effort in Paris, California has been helping to organize more than 55 \u201csub-national\u201d governments around the world. Each government, from the Chinese city of Zhenjiang to Wales, has signed or endorsed the \u201cUnder 2 MOU<\/a>,\u201d encouraging the conference to adopt goals that will limit global warming to less than 2-degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alex is one of approximately six officials from the governor\u2019s office who will travel to Paris alongside Brown, with costs paid by foundations and business groups. Other Californians attending the conference include former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; the Democratic leaders of the state Senate and Assembly; state Sen. Fran Pavley<\/a> (D-Agoura Hills); Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, the state\u2019s powerful regulatory agency and Tom Steyer<\/a>, a wealthy Bay Area environmentalist and prominent political donor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pavley was the co-author of the California Global Warming Solutions Act in 2006, which calls for the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The act, also known as AB 32, led to the creation of the state\u2019s cap-and-trade program and a requirement for lowering the carbon intensity of motor fuels like gasoline and diesel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pavley said California has had plenty of opportunity to preview the Paris conference, with a parade of international officials visiting to discuss climate. \u201cAlmost never a week goes by that we don\u2019t have people from a foreign country coming to Sacramento on these policies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Paris](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/calmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/cop21-1-1.jpg?resize=400%2C646&ssl=1\")
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