California's governor and New York's mayor have agreed to collaborate on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission, saying they can no longer wait for Washington to act on global warming.
Appearing with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at a fuel cell company in Silicon Valley, Michael Bloomberg on Thursday detailed a five-point plan to incorporate sustainable energy into long-term planning in his city.
Bloomberg said New York officials have begun the largest study ever conducted to catalog greenhouse gas emissions, creating a base for the city to set goals and measure its progress on reducing emissions. He also announced the appointment of a special adviser for climate change and plans to cut city agencies' gas and energy consumption.
"It would be nice if we could get Washington to do a lot of things for us but we can't say blame them and walk away from it," Bloomberg said. "We are the ones that are held accountable."
“We don’t wait for the federal government to take the leadership position ... we take the lead,” Schwarzenegger echoed.
California, the most populous state, has been particularly aggressive in dealing with the global warming issue.
Schwarzenegger used the event to tout the landmark global warming agreement he struck last month with Democrats in the state legislature. The plan will cut California's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Schwarzenegger said he would sign the bill into law next week.
"California will take a bold step against global warming. ... By partnering with the mayor and others in the trenches on this issue, we will become the model" for other states and nations to follow, he said.
Earlier this week, California, which has some of the toughest emission standards in the country, filed federal charges against the six largest U.S. and Japanese automakers for causing millions of dollars in damage through vehicle emissions of greenhouse gases.
In July, Schwarzenegger met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and, bypassing Washington, agreed to collaborate on research into cleaner-burning fuels and technologies.
The mayor was on the second of a two-day visit to California to meet with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Schwarzenegger to discuss education and the environment. He was also to attend two fund-raisers for Schwarzenegger, who is seeking reelection in November.
The company Schwarzenegger and Bloomberg visited, Bloom Energy, formerly Ion America, is developing fuel cell systems to power homes, offices, factories and data centers.