Jerry Brown Plays President; Signs Climate Deal with China

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new climate change agreement between the State of California and the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday.

The gesture continued Brown’s efforts to expand ties with China, as well as his diplomatic campaign to push for more action on climate change. It came in the immediate aftermath of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords.

A statement by Gov. Brown’s office described the new agreement as follows:

Specifically, the agreement expands cooperation on the advancement of low-carbon, renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies such as zero-emission vehicles, energy storage, grid modernization and low-carbon urban development. Under the agreement, California and China will also deepen their partnership and coordination on greenhouse gas emission and air pollution reduction programs, including emissions trading systems and carbon capture.

The Associated Press reports, however, that the agreement does not bind either China or California to specific greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

Brown met for 45 minutes with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The AP reports that “Trump’s announcement last week that he wants to pull out of the Paris accord did not come up, according to the governor.”

Brown’s China visit was not the first time that he has attempted to lead on the world stage. In late 2015, he traveled to Paris — in the immediate aftermath of the San Bernardino terror attack — to participate in the global discussions around the climate change accords that eventually emerged — and which President Trump subsequently rejected.

The governor has also championed California’s role in the “Under2” coalition, a grouping of subnational jurisdictions (such as states and provinces) that have committed to address climate change.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.