California and France have two of the lowest levels of greenhouse gas emission in the world.

California senator, Kevin de Leon sings the praises of French and Californian environmental conservation business models. He is on route to Paris, for the global conference on climate, COP21 which takes place from November 30 to December 11.

According to him, France has made huge improvements in ecology. The country now shares a lot in common with California in terms of climate conservation. France has greatly improved its technology and green employments. By 2017, the Minister of Ecology promised to create 100,000 jobs. Contrary to California however, the French economy is still highly dependent on nuclear industry.

According to a Next 10 survey, the French economy is most ecological in terms of greenhouse gas emission per dollar of GDP, while California is not far behind. France is also the second country in the G20 listing to have reduced its carbon footprint by 9.1%. Yet France still has a lot to accomplish with regard to environmental conservation practices considering its carbon footprint per inhabitant reached 10.6 tons. France hopes to reduce that to 2 tons per inhabitant; a goal that the country hopes to achieve by 2050 to keep global warming under 2 Celsius degrees.

California is considered somewhat of a leader in the COP21 thanks to the state’s innovative environmental practices. California’s government is committed to solving our state’s climate issues. For instance, Kevin de Leon has for months been relentless in his attempts to adopt restrictive green legislation.

In early October, California voted for an ambitious goal, stating that half the electricity produced by the state has to come from renewable energies by 2030. On the other hand, under the pressure of big oil multinationals, the state gave up one of the most drastic policies aiming to reduce gas consumption by 50% in 2030. The reason why, is the fear for economic slowdown, according to the Californian senator. However, California ranks 7th in terms of world economies. Between 1990 and 2012, the greenhouse gas effects decreased by 25% per Californian inhabitant, whereas the GDP skyrocketed by 37%.

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