[Politico] F*&K HIMHis pitch: The effects of climate change are upon us and the world — including California — ignores them at their peril.
California is “meeting the moment head-on as the hots get hotter, the dries get drier, the wets get wetter, simultaneous droughts and rain bombs,” Newsom said last month in a Central Valley orchard outfitted with solar panels and batteries. “We have to address these issues with a ferocity that is required of us.”
He’s heading to the Vatican next week to meet with Pope Francis and other leaders, where he’ll highlight what’s at stake with “global temperatures hurtling towards alarming new heights.” The trip comes after a swing through China last fall, where he touted California’s sharing of climate policy and technology.
Newsom’s moves to promote electric vehicles and renewable energy while phasing out gas-powered cars, trying to recoup climate-related damages from oil giants and going after refiners’ profits have won strong support in California, but his efforts face a reliable line of attack from the industry and Republicans who say it’s all too expensive.
He’s used to the criticism. A key part of his strategy has been to ascribe high gas prices and utility bills to corporate greed and gouging while beating back proposals that he believes go too far like Proposition 30, which would have raised taxes on the rich in 2022 to funnel money to electric vehicles.