State officials highlight how states, provinces and cities are key to meeting climate targets and driving higher ambition in Nationally Determined Contributions

Nov. 15, 2024

Media Contacts:
Nefretiri Cooley, nefretiri.cooley@calepa.ca.gov, 916.634.8428

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (Nov. 15, 2024, GMT +4) — During the 29^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), California Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia, along with other state officials, joined representatives from across the globe to stress the need for urgent, bolder climate action and share California’s experience in tackling climate challenges and advancing solutions.

“The commitments being shaped at this COP must reflect the urgency of the moment we are in. We have no time to waste,” said Secretary Garcia. “While states like California are not parties to the negotiations, we are implementing the solutions our communities deserve. In California, we are proving year after year that it is possible to reduce emissions while growing our economy, and we are showing that progress is possible with strong subnational leadership.”

Now, more than ever, this work is critically important. The UN Environmental Emissions Gap Report 2024 found that nations must deliver dramatically stronger ambition and action in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions or the Paris Agreement 1.5°C goal will be gone within a few years. California is a founding member and current Steering Group member of the Under2 Coalition, now the largest network of subnational governments, totaling more than 50% of global Gross Domestic Product and committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. California also helped launch the U.S. Climate Alliance, whose collective membership represents 55% of the U.S. population and 60% of the U.S. economy.

CalEPA has a decades-long history of executing and implementing international cooperative agreements to reduce emissions and increase climate ambition among national and subnational governments. California regularly sends a governmental delegation to the UNFCCC COP convenings. Secretary Garcia, California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, and the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation Director Sam Assefa lead this year’s delegation.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, Secretary Garcia spoke at the “Efforts to Realize a Sound Material-Cycle Society through Multilevel Climate Action” session organized by ICLEI Japan and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategy (IGES). This session aimed to share visions and concrete initiatives to advance multilevel climate action. Secretary Garcia highlighted California’s work to build a circular economy to deliver significant climate, economic and community benefits.

A recording of the session is available on IGES Japan’s YouTube.

Later that day, Secretary Garcia joined US EPA’s event highlighting a year of Progress on the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan. She spoke about California’s comprehensive and innovative approach to cutting methane at the subnational level. Last year, California launched the Subnational Methane Action Coalition (SMAC), a partnership of subnational governments committed to reducing methane. SMAC now includes more than 20 members, with new members welcomed during COP29, including Maryland and the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, Secretary Garcia spoke on climate action, public-private partnerships and green jobs, during the “California spotlight fireside chat” at the “Sustainable Innovation Forum.” She emphasized California’s ongoing commitment to acting on climate and building collaborative partnerships and how California’s economy has grown not despite but because of our ambitious climate agenda.

That evening, Secretary Garcia participated in a panel organized by Under2 Coalition and Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) titled, “Seizing the Moment to Ratchet Net Zero Emissions,” where she outlined how California’s 2022 Scoping Plan provides real, feasible solutions to achieve carbon neutrality and drive the most significant and necessary transformation of a major economy since the industrial revolution.

On Thursday, Nov. 14, during a fireside chat at the Under2 Coalition General Assembly, Secretary Garcia focused on what COP29 success would look like and how subnational governments can drive ambitious action. She also highlighted California’s all-of-government approach to taking climate action and driving down emissions from all sources, including reducing waste and scaling nature-based solutions.

“The co-benefits that we leverage when protecting biodiversity are not just climate benefits, but also benefits to protect Indigenous people and places where people can enjoy the beauty that our natural systems have to offer,” said Secretary Garcia at the Under2 Coalition General Assembly. “We’re thinking about how nature-based solutions fit into our climate plans, fit into our emission reduction inventories and can be leveraged to create that level of ambition with those multiple benefits as a factor.”

Secretary Garcia also participated in the “Driving Ambitious Climate Goals” panel hosted by America Is All In and the University of Maryland’s Center for Global Sustainability, where she addressed California’s action to decarbonize our economy and benefit our communities.

Later in the day, Secretary Garcia joined the U.S.-China “Subnational Climate Leaders Dialogue,” hosted by the California-China Climate Institute.

“We have critical mass and a coalition willing to continue our highest level of climate ambition, to continue to reduce greenhouse gas and non-carbon-dioxide pollutants and to continue this critical partnership with our colleagues in China,” said Secretary Garcia.

On Friday, Nov. 15, Secretary Garcia joined Washington state Governor Jay Inslee and other officials for a press conference to discuss how U.S. states, cities and other non-federal actors will continue working with the international community to meet the U.S. commitment to the Paris Agreement.

Secretary Garcia will continue her COP29 participation through Saturday, Nov. 16. For more information, follow CalEPA (Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook) and Secretary Garcia (Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn) on social media and the hashtags #COP29 and #COP29Azerbaijan.

The mission of CalEPA is to restore, protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quality and economic vitality. We fulfill our mission by developing, implementing and enforcing environmental laws that regulate air, water and soil quality, pesticide use and waste recycling and reduction. Our departments are at the forefront of environmental science, using the most recent research to shape the state’s environmental laws.