California's Coalition of the Willing

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Governors' Global Climate Summit.

Photo: AP Photo / Nick Ut

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California's done it again. By bringing together 12 states and four other nations, it has demonstrated that the economies most in need of transformation are ready to meet the low-carbon challenge posed by global warming.

The climate summit that wrapped up Wednesday didn't result in any binding agreements, as the United Nations is aiming for next year in Copenhagen when it negotiates a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Beverly Hills won't be remembered as the site where global warming was solved.

But the statement brought together not only 12 U.S. states, but four nations - our North American neighbors, Canada and Mexico, as well as the third and fourth largest carbon emitters, Indonesia and Brazil. China also signed the statement that resulted from the conference as a witness. (The states include Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.)

The signatories agreed to develop strategies for reducing emissions from the industries that produce the most greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Associated Press account - forestry, agriculture, cement, iron, aluminum, energy and transportation. Schwarzenegger said he wants California's global warming law to incorporate a mechanism that would allow industries in the state to meet emissions benchmarks, in part, by preserving rain forests in Indonesia and Brazil, a potentially landmark decision.

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