On Nov. 17, hundreds of leaders from the Los Angeles community gathered at the USC Davidson Conference Center to explore California’s path toward meeting the ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals by 2050.
The conference, titled “Decarbonizing California: 2020–2050,” also looked at the global efforts at addressing climate change and how the lessons that we have learned in both ambient air quality management and now GHG emissions in California are helping inform other regions of the world grappling with these issues. The event – presented by Climate Resolve – was co-hosted by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy and the Marshall School of Business.
For the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, whose focus on climate change is a priority, the conference was an important follow-up to its September symposium held at the California Environmental Protection Agency with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and current Gov. Jerry Brown.
Opening remarks by Jonathan Parfrey, executive director of Climate Resolve, set the stage for why this is one of the generation’s most critical issues.
The USC Schwarzenegger Institute’s academic director and renowned environmental policy expert Dan Mazmanian then led an informative discussion with chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols, and Lauren Faber from the Environmental Defense Fund, and Denise Fairchild from Emerald Cities Collaborative. The discussion reviewed California’s success, but mostly focused on the challenge areas needed to be met to achieve 2050 goals.
Nichols offered her view that we have much more to do in the areas of urban design, and in the goods movement; she noted that this is a challenge other global regions are struggling with. Having just participated in “track 2” negotiations as part of the U.S. delegation in India, she was informed that while India’s railroads were once the envy of the world they are now in disrepair, and almost all their goods are moved by trucks. In addition, there are no emission standards for trucks.
Mazmanian – a professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy, which houses the Schwarzenegger Institute – turned the remainder of the discussion to the important role of cities. Fairchild pointed out a recent study by the American Council for Air and Energy-Efficient Economy, which stated that, one year ago, California moved from being first on the list of most energy efficient states to second, replaced by Massachusetts, and was being pulled down by the city of Los Angeles, which ranks 28th among large U.S. cities.
Nichols agreed that without Los Angeles intensifying its efforts to reducing GHGs, California will not meet its targets. She explained that when California’s landmark climate change law passed, AB 32, it correctly included energy used, but not produced within its borders, and that meant including coal.
Many expect the focus in California to intensify on cities, urban design, transportation and community wide strategies.