To mark the U.S.’ return to the Paris Agreement on February 19, thousands of non-federal climate leaders launched America is All In, a coalition led by Mike Bloomberg, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, and CommonSpirit Health CEO Lloyd H. Dean to support an ambitious new U.S. climate target and mobilize whole-of-society climate action.
The coalition of U.S. cities, corporations, universities, nonprofit groups represents a merging and evolution of We Are Still In and America’s Pledge, which Mike co-chaired with former California Gov. Jerry Brown to ensure that U.S. climate progress continued despite federal inaction.
Mike spoke at the launch event alongside White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
“Over the last four years, Americans across the country have continued pushing forward and cutting emissions," Mike said. "The reason is simple: They understand fighting climate change strengthens our economy and improves people’s health.” AddedMcCarthyof Mike and America is All In, "I am running a national climate office that is about a whole-of-government approach, just as America is All In is making sure that we’re working together across our society. One of the most exciting things is the diversity and inclusivity of the group. We’re gonna learn from that.”
Bloomberg, who noted that coal plants had closed at a faster rate under Trump than under Obama, was a major funder behind that push on behalf of public officials and private industry in recent years.
As Miketweeted, "Now that the U.S. is back in the Paris Agreement, it’s time to go all in. Today we’re launching a coalition of local communities and institutions enabling the Biden-Harris administration to set a target to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030."
Added Vi Lyles, “Cities have been at the forefront of climate action over the past several years and, as progressive leaders, we must continue to play an integral role in building a healthier, more equitable, and resilient future."
Texas Crisis: Why We Need Climate Risk Transparency.
The climate-driven crisis in Texas, where millions were without power and clean water for days, provides a stunning example of why we need strong guidelines to bring transparency to climate-related risks.
Climate change is increasingly to blame for extreme weather events costing trillions of dollars in damage and creating severe disruptions in supply chains. Oil and gas analysts equate the recent energy crisis in Texas to the devastating impact that Hurricane Katrina had on energy markets in 2005.
The framework by the Mike Bloomberg-chaired Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which has been called the gold standard in climate risk reporting, provides the transparency governments, companies, markets and investors need to calculate and mitigate climate risk.
As theBloomberg Opinion editorial board also points out, the emergency in Texas underlines how climate resilience needs to be taken much more seriously.
As the number of new daily Covid cases and deaths continue to decline in the U.S. and the UK, officials are ramping up efforts to get people vaccinated. A U.S. surge in shots is expected in the coming weeks and months, with millions of doses promised.
The U.S. has given shots to 17.29 people per 100, one of the higher vaccination rates of countries around the world, according to data collected by Bloomberg. This is up from 11.17 shots per 100 people on February 8.
Still at the very top of the global vaccination race is Israel, which has now administered more than 75.69 doses per 100 people. The United Arab Emirates is next in line with close to 49.16 doses per 100 people.
The UK has administered 24.7 doses per 100 people, the highest rate in Europe — and up from 16.46 doses per 100 people on February 8. Germany has administered 5.27 doses per 100 people and France 4.9 doses per 100 people.
Over the past two weeks, vaccinations in the top countries have continued at high speeds, while those slower to vaccinate have continued to fall behind, as the graph below shows:
Bloomberg Philanthropies recently offered virtual sessions for city leaders and senior staff, led by Columbia, South Carolina mayor Steve Benjamin and Strategic Partnerships Lead at Bloomberg Associates Megan Sheekey on attracting and managing resources and building on themes from our Collaborative Cities toolkit.
On Texas Senator Ted Cruz going on vacation to Mexico while his state dealt with an energy crisis following a massive winter storm last week:
“If you hate Ted Cruz, this was a pretty fun week. And if you like Ted Cruz, then you’re Ted Cruz.’ — Colin Jost on SNL
“Cruz initially released a statement saying he only went on vacation because his daughters made him go. If you think it was bad to throw his daughters under the bus, Cruz would like you to know that statement was his wife’s idea.” — Colin Jost
“After he abandoned Texas, he came back in a Texas flag mask like nothing happened. That’s like Jared and Ivanka walking down Fifth Avenue in ‘I Love NY’ shirts.” — Colin Jost
"Hundreds of thousands of Texans were still without power. And on a day when the most newsworthy landing should have been the NASA Rover successfully touching down on Mars, instead, it was a Republican senator from Texas touching down on Cancún." -- Jimmy Kimmel
"I get that Ted Cruz is tired. The man deserves a break after trying so hard to overthrow the government, but this is not the time, Ted!" -- Trevor Noah
And finally: Check out the ‘Saturday Night Live’ Cold Open, in which talk show host Britney Spears (Chloe Fineman) grills guests Ted Cruz (Aidy Bryant), New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Pete Davidson) and fired 'Mandalorian' actress Gina Carano (Cecily Strong).
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