I missed Schwarzenegger's speech this morning while I was darting off to learn about mitigation strategies. Upon examining the transcript, it seems like it was by and large a justifiably self-congratulatory speech about what they have been able to achieve in California and now in the Western states, and in the economic gains that the state has earned as an early adopter in the technology sector. A chunk of his speech also gets to what needs to happen to get an international climate pact to the next level:
I believe California will do great things, amazing things. But we need the world to do great things too. The time has come to stop looking back at the Kyoto protocol. It is time to stop looking back in blame or suspicion. The consequences of global climate change are so pressing, it doesn't matter who was responsible for the past. What matters is who is answerable to the future. And that means all of us. The rich nations and the poor nations have different responsibilities, but one responsibility we all have is action.
I've got mixed thoughts on Schwarzenegger's "put up or shut up" posturing. On the one hand, it seems to fall into the same rhetorical pattern that guided our Kyoto policy: it's not us, it's them, and we're not in until they're in. But at the same time, thinking about Bali not as the Next Kyoto or as the U.S., et al, trying to make good on a past screw up, but as its own new, innovative, opportunity-rich pact offers a more positive spin on today's events and December's meeting.
--Kate Sheppard
