SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Looking for allies in the fight against climate change, California Gov. Jerry Brown heads to China this week in a push to build foreign support for carbon-cutting efforts that have found resistance in Washington.
California will work with governments around the world to combat climate change even if President Donald Trump rolls back environmental regulations, Brown said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“It’s important for the world to know that America is not Washington. … Yes, we’re part of the union, but we’re also a sovereign state that can promote the necessary policies that are required for survival,” Brown said.
Brown is making his second trip as governor to China, where he will promote the liberal state’s ambitious climate policies at a conference of global energy ministers and look to marshal states, provinces, cities and other non-national governments to take their own actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
California’s aggressive target for reducing emissions is among the most ambitious in the world. By 2030, state is aiming to reduce emissions 40 percent below where they were in 1990.