PolitiFact quotes me in an analysis of Governor Brown's State of the State Address, which compared California's leadership in the Under2 MOU initiative to the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:
Under the MOU, California pledged to reduce emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and actually enacted legislation that codifies the target and sets a regulatory process in place. That’s a "really high watermark" that hardly any national governments have met, said Danny Cullenward, an energy economist at Carnegie Institute for Science.
…
Cullenward pointed out that the Paris agreement’s depth is the result of two decades of negotiations, while the MOU is a relatively new compact and will likely become much more sophisticated over time.
"It’s no substitute for eventual national action. But it’s a really appropriate strategy where you have national governments that aren’t interested in taking action on climate change," he said.
Thanks to Tampa Bay Times journalist Linda Qiu for speaking with me.