As Trump Steps Back, Jerry Brown Talks Climate Change in China
In a meeting packed with symbolism — and one that seemed at once to elevate the California governor
and rebuke Mr. Trump — President Xi Jinping of China met with Mr. Brown, at the governor’s request, at the very moment China prepares to take a more commanding role in fighting climate change.
John Barrasso said that I hope that Governor Brown gets as good a deal for California as China got from the Paris climate agreement,
Gary Locke, a former American ambassador to China and governor of Washington, said Chinese leaders were "well aware"
that Mr. Brown was considered a "strong leader" on climate change and a critic of Mr. Trump.
But instead, Mr. Brown was in China on Tuesday, emerging as a de facto envoy from the United States
on climate change at a time when President Trump has renounced efforts to battle global emissions.
Brown said that I think happy-time news is what people like from their politicians, even if the news can be a little more dire than that.
As a gift, Mr. Brown gave Mr. Xi a first-edition copy of "The Mountains of California," a 1894 book
by John Muir, a naturalist who wrote extensively about the splendors of the California wilderness.
