Florida Gov. Charlie Crist plans to sign an agreement Friday with the British government to work together on combating global warming, an agreement similar to one signed a year ago by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to a spokeswoman for the British Consulate.
British officials took pains to point out that they weren’t trying to go behind the White House’s back in signing pacts with various states.
“We’re not trying to go above the U.S. government by any means – it’s just a partnership,” said Annette Hugues, a spokeswoman for the British Consulate in Miami.
But last year, when Schwarzenegger signed a pact with then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Californiagovernor contended that states had to forge their own global warming agreements because the White House and Congress had been dragging their feet.
“California will not wait for our federal government to take strong action on global warming,” Schwarzenegger said then.
Florida officials would not talk about the agreement before the signing. “We’ll be prepared to talk about it tomorrow,” said Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac.
“There is no question the world is looking to the larger states like California and Florida to take the lead,” said Terry Tamminen, who served as Schwarzenegger’s environmental chief and convinced Crist of the urgent need for action by Florida.
In addition to hosting the two-day summit in Miami, Crist is slated to sign three executive orders that mandate sweeping changes in Florida’s energy policy, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions from utilities and revamping the building code to require greater energy efficiency.
Tamminen said he is hopeful that Florida’s actions could persuade other states in the Southeast to take similar steps, so that Florida could anchor a regional trading system.
The California agreement, signed after a roundtable mediated by Steve Howard of the Climate Group, committed California and England to share ideas for “market-based mechanisms” to battle global warming, including joining forces in trading carbon credits and coordinating research on new technology.
Earlier this year, European Union officials met with California officials about how to make that state's planned cap-and-trade program fit with the European one. Under the EU's emissions trading program, companies that produce large amounts of carbon dioxide -- mainly power plants burning oil, natural gas and coal -- can trade allocations for how much they can release, giving them a financial incentive to release less greenhouse gases.
``We are trying to make their trading scheme harmonized in order to have them linked in the future,'' European Union Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in January.
“We are very open to talking to anyone who wants to be part of the fight against global warming,” said John Ashton, the special representative for climate change from the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He noted that "quite a lot of the big things that happen in America seem to be things that are driven by state action."
Christopher Walker, U.S. director of The Climate Group, said, “I think it’s important because the UK as well as the EU already have an international trading program. So there’s a lot to be learned from them.”
The Climate Group, a nonprofit organization based in London, mobilizes corporate and government leaders to build awareness about climate change to promote the acceleration of greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
Florida is growing faster, perhaps, than anywhere else, Walker said. If Florida can cut emissions while growing rapidly, it will become a beacon for the rest of the world, particularly China and India.
“It could really be the shining light for others,” Walker said.
Theodore Roosevelt IV, managing director of Lehman Brothers, a global finance firm, said, “I think this is a first step. Ultimately, you will see a global carbon market. It’s terrific that this agreement will be signed with the UK.”
--Asjylyn Loder and Craig Pittman
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