California Gov. Brown on Climate Efforts

Yesterday’s session at the annual Navigating American Carbon World conference was a bit of a California lovefest, with relief and gratitude spilling over for the state’s leadership on climate policy.  The crowd was California’s choir, and Governor Jerry Brown delivered the keynote address to two standing ovations.  It’s rare to hear a politician sound, by turns, so fiery, sensible, philosophical, resolved, and even (can I say this?) a little loopy, all in one speech.  But that’s kind of Governor Brown’s brand.  I figured Legal Planet readers might enjoy a few quotes from his address. Long live California.

On Trump’s statement that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese:

“If there’s any hoax, it’s in the White House, not in Beijing.”

“We’re in Alice-in-Wonderland world.”

“Truth is powerful.  We’re on the side of truth. Whatever the flimflam artists do or say, we’re going to overcome them.”

[Referring back to his days studying the Jesuit tenets of prayer and mortification:] “We need both prayer and mortification to defeat Trump.”

On California’s path forward:

“California isn’t resisting—we’re pioneering an intelligent path forward.”

“We gotta go against the flow, rechannel the flow—because the flow is now leading us to catastrophe.”

“Whatever they’re doing in Washington, we are forming our own Under 2 Coalition.”

On the general challenge of climate change:

“Stopping carbon will be like stopping a heroin addiction.”

“Don’t relax.  Don’t feel good about yourselves.  See how bad it is, and then make it good.  And feel good about that.”