Climate Action Heroes
Daniel Sperling, Director, UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, Acting Director, Energy Efficiency Center
In an interview with Science writer Gordy Slack, transportation export Daniel Sperling addresses California’s role in slowing climate change.
When push comes to shove, it will be state and local and national governments, not international bodies, that enact the policies that will really make a difference.
California may be the only government in the world that has developed a comprehensive plan for reducing greenhouse gases across the entire economy and society. It is the so-called “scoping plan,” which was adopted last December. The state is now in the process of adopting and implementing all of the rules and policies that are part of that plan. One of first adopted was the low carbon fuel standard, which requires a reduction in the GHG intensity of transport fuels and provides the framework for transforming the oil industry into a low-carbon energy industry. Two other major programs that will be adopted shortly are a carbon cap-and-trade program and a renewable electricity generation requirement.
Visit CITRIS for more on the interview with Daniel Sperling.
Respected international leaders, thinkers and doers take a stance on climate change.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“Climate change is a reality. Life depends on a sustainable environment. With no world, there can only be nothing–no birds, no animals, no trees, no us. That’s why getting involved in 350.org is so important – it’s an effective way to take action to turn around the climate crisis.”
Desmond Tutu was Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 until 1996 and is the 1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. Since his retirement, Tutu has continued to work as a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights.
Liz Thompson, Former Barbados Environment Minister
“As a resident of a Small Island Developing State, I am acutely aware of the dangers of global warming. Some countries are closer to the frontlines of global warming than others, but we are all affected by this global problem, which requires from us a global response. Getting to 350 means saving our planet and ourselves from a disaster of our own creation.”
Ms. Thompson has become one of the recognized leaders on environmental issues of the Small Island Developing States. She also became a key voice to raise awareness of global warming in Barbados – a country where the challenges of climate change and conservation are of particular relevance.
President Mohamed Nasheed
“Now the world has an opportunity to come together and prevent the looming environmental catastrophe. That opportunity is called Copenhagen. And let’s be very frank about this: Copenhagen can be one of two things. It can be an historic event where the world unites against carbon pollution, in a collective spirit of co-operation and collaboration. Or, Copenhagen can be a suicide pact. The choice is that stark.”
Mohamed Nasheed is the President of the Maldives. He is the founder of the Maldivian Democratic Party, and has pledged that the Maldives will be carbon-neutral within 10 years, making it the first country in the world to do so.
Van Jones
“Getting to 350 means changing everything about our global economy. It means providing clean-energy jobs to rewire every corner of the world and catalyzing a global transformation built on principles of equity and opportunity.”
Van Jones is working to combine solutions to America’s two biggest problems: social inequality and environmental destruction. In 2007, he founded Green For All, a new organization working to build a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.
Claudio Angelo
“Sustaining 9.3 billion people on the planet, ensuring a prosperous future for inhabitants of poor countries and simultaneously protecting the species that share the globe with Homo sapiens will only be possible with an energy revolution. The climate crisis is our biggest collective challenge, and it can only be solved if we stick to ambitious objectives – like 350 ppm.”
Claudio Angelo is one of the principle science communicators in Brazil and has been writing about climate change for almost a decade. He is the Science Editor at the Folha de S. Paulo, one of Brazil’s most prominent newspapers, and his book “Global Warming” is one of the first (and few) popular books about the subject in the country.
