A little bipartisan bromance as Schwarzenegger, Newsom laud California’s climate-change wins
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- Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gov. Gavin Newsom marked 20 years of California’s landmark climate law, celebrating a rare show of bipartisan unity amid deepening political polarization.
- The 2006 law helped cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels and fueled clean-energy growth, but California is falling behind its next targets.
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California → laud → targets
- Schwarzenegger said the state’s climate policies show what cooperation can accomplish; California’s cap-and-invest program, extended through 2045, is now moving toward a link with Washington state’s market.
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program → say → market
Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, celebrated the 20-year anniversary of landmark climate legislation he signed while in office alongside Democrats including Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.
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he → celebrate → Wednesday
“California is the perfect example of what can be done when people work together and when we don’t look at this as a Republican or as a Democratic issue,” Schwarzenegger said at an economic conference in Long Beach, noting that Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act had significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions while creating more than a half a million clean-energy jobs.
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Bill → do → jobs
“This is the message that is so important for the world,” he said, because the state’s policies have become a model for other states and nations.
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policies → say → states
Newsom noted that the state had met “audacious” goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, touting 39,000 megawatts of clean energy that have been installed in the last seven years, 23,000 megawatts of battery storage created, and that no flex alert has been issued in the state in four years.
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alert → note → years
“So we’re not in the goal-setting business; we’re in the how business,” he said.
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he → ’re → business
He added that the clean energy transition is “the most critical national security issue in the United States of America,” with economic and supply chain leadership at stake as China surpasses the U.S. in electric vehicles, clean-energy manufacturing and the deployment of renewables.
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China → add → renewables
The state already met the climate change legislation’s ambitious target — returning emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 — four years ahead of schedule.
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state → meet → schedule
However, recent analyses indicate California is not on track to meet its future targets of cutting emissions 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2045.
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California → indicate → 2045
The legislation paved the way for the creation of California’s nation-leading carbon market, cap-and-invest, which launched in 2013.
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which → pave → 2013
The Legislature extended cap-and-invest’s life to 2045 last year, and the state is now initiating the process of linking its market with Washington state.
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state → extend → state
The event as well as a luncheon the prior day in Santa Monica were rare displays of bipartisan unity at a time of heightened political polarization in the United States.
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event → heighten → States
Schwarzenegger and Newsom piled praise upon each other during the Wednesday afternoon discussion, hugging at the end.
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Schwarzenegger → pile → end
At the luncheon, former Gov. Gray Davis, whom Schwarzenegger ousted from office in the 2003 recall election, as well as billionaire hedge-fund founder turned environmental warrior Tom Steyer, who unsuccessfully ran for governor this year, were among the Democrats in attendance, as well as former state Assembly Speaker Fabien Nunez and former state Sen. Fran Pavley, who were both pivotal in the passage of the climate-change legislation.
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who → oust → legislation
In addition to remarks highlighting the foundation of some of the nation’s bedrock environmental policies, such as former GOP President Richard Nixon creating the Environmental Protection Agency and signing the Endangered Species Act, there were moments of levity.
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Nixon → highlight → levity
Schwarzenegger said he told fellow Republicans “f— you” when they balked at him naming Susan Kennedy, a Democrat, as his chief of staff, he said Tuesday.
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he → say → staff
During a breakout session at the Wednesday conference, he referenced his former wife, Maria Shriver, a scion of the Kennedy family, as he described his desire to hear from people on both sides of the aisle.
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he → reference → aisle
“So I had Democrats in my administration, and of course the Republican Party went nuts,” he said.
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he → have → course
“I didn’t care because, to me, I thought I wanted to hear what the Democrats were thinking.
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Democrats → care → what
Plus, I was sleeping with one every night anyway.”
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I → sleep → one
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