BFF-41 Aiming for zero: cities, companies ramp up climate goals

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Aiming for zero: cities, companies ramp up climate goals

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 14, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Zero fossil fuel energy, zero gas-guzzlers on the road, zero waste, zero CO2 emissions — dozens of cities, regions and companies made “zero” pledges Thursday at a global climate summit in San Francisco.

The mayors, governors, and CEOs from around the world have stepped into the climate breach with concrete action as UN talks to implement the Paris climate treaty falter, and President Donald Trump dismantles US policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Global warming, meanwhile, continues to gather pace: major storms bearing down on the US eastern seaboard and the Philippines, and wildfires ravaging California, bear the unmistakable fingerprint of climate change, scientists say.

“This is real and we will take action even if Washington doesn’t,” said Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti.

Jointly organized by California governor Jerry Brown and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the three-day gathering is a showcase for initiatives, big and small, to reduce humanity’s carbon footprint.

Many center on switching from cars and trucks powered by planet-warming fossil fuels to electric vehicles.

On Thursday, dozens of states, regions and major cities committed to allowing only zero-emission cars, buses and trucks on their roads within a few decades.

Tokyo, Seoul and Rotterdam, meanwhile, joined Paris, London, Barcelona and Mexico City in vowing to run only electric buses by 2025.

Even a decade ago, such commitments would have seemed unthinkable, said Nicholas Stern, who heads the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment in London. – ‘Liar, criminal, fool’ –

“Who would have thought that the heads of major car companies would all be agreeing that the era of the internal combustion engine is coming to an end,” he told AFP.

In the United States, vehicle emissions are the single largest source of greenhouse gases.

Electricity grids around the world are also purging fossil-fuel-based energy.

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