by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
‘‘Achieving carbon neutrality for one’s current emissions is not the end-goal, but rather a bridge to more substantial reductions’
Governor Gavin Newsom today announced yet another climate change partnership – this one between California and Kenya, “to advance efforts to cut pollution and support trade.”
Who has to cut pollution – California or Kenya?
Governor Newsom is acting more like Prime Minister Newsom – the head of his own subnational government, which operates below a country’s national or central government.
“The Governor led California’s delegation in a bilateral meeting with the delegation from Kenya, led by Kenyan President William Ruto. California and Kenya signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at Climate Week in New York yesterday,” Newsom’s press statement says. Text of the MOU is available here.
A climate Memorandum of Understanding is not legally binding. Nor can a governor of a state within the United States of America sign a compact with another country, even for climate change.
