What are states doing about climate change?

One of the side effects of Trump admitting that he couldn't get the Paris Climate Change Treaty through Congress is that states have stepped into the void to make plans. (Obama couldn't get the treaty past Congress either, but while he maintained the fiction that the US was signed up, it allowed people to sit back and do nothing in the belief that the federal govt was doing something - even though the federal govt was doing nothing either).

Anyway, the most interesting thing is that different states are taking different approaches, tailored for their economies and climates.

Alaska is taking action because it's permafrost is melting they're facing the possible expense of having to move coastal cities inland. They have set up a climate change panel that is due to report recommendations for the state legislature to take forward this year. They already generate 33% of their electricity using renewables and are looking to target 50%. They are also considering a carbon tax, which would be a brave thing to do especially as it would be mainly Alaska's oil industry that pays it.

In Florida, students are suing the Governor to force him to take action. Florida has some low-lying cities that are at risk of flooding if sea levels rise, including Miami.

New York is pressing ahead with it's goal to generate 50% of the state's power with renewables by 2030. This involves overhauling the existing grid and setting up batteries to store energy generated by renewables. New York city is vulnerable to flooding due to rising sea levels.

California was one of the first states to act - in 2006 Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act into law. This required the state to reduce it's emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Impressively, they are on course to meet the target. The next goal is a 40% reduction by 2030. They alreadygenerate half the state's electricity from carbon free sources (21% hydroelectric, 12% solar, 9% nuclear, 6% wind, 6% geothermal). California's emissions are low by global standards. But California is also in a place that could get arid fast if the global climate continues to warm.

California also affects the entire United States because it's regulations on emissions from cars tends to be adopted state-wide by car manufacturers (it's cheaper for them to simply build everything to the toughest standard - California's - standards than to build to a whole slew of different standards).