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Newson Instantly Pulls Out of Journey to U.N. Local weather Convention, Sends Lt. Gov. Kounalakis – CBS San Francisco

SACRAMENTO (AP) – Unspecified “family obligations” prompted California Governor Gavin Newsom to suddenly cancel his trip to Scotland on Friday for the United Nations’ annual climate change conference, a huge gathering of international leaders on a subject that is one of his highest priorities.

Newsom, who has four children, ages 5 to 12, will attend the gathering virtually, spokeswoman Erin Mellon said. Mellon declined to comment when asked to provide details about what caused Newsom to change its plans.

Newsom asked Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat colleague, to lead the California delegation to Glasgow. In an interview with The Associated Press, Kounalakis said she spoke to Newsom on Thursday and felt that she might be asked to leave.

“The governor has a young family and we should all understand, especially those of us who have been there,” said Kounalakis, who has two grown sons.

Democratic Senator Bob Hertzberg, who is attending the conference, said he suspects Newsom will be very disappointed not to leave.

“He loves this topic, it is very important to him,” said Hertzberg. “It’s a big deal for him and I’m sure he was dying to go.”

Newsom has spoken passionately about the need to take decisive action on climate change issues. Last month, while surveying the damage caused by one of the state’s many recent major forest fires, he said, “I literally have no patience with climate change deniers,” adding, that view is “totally inconsistent … with the reality of the field.”

California has long been a global leader on climate issues, dating back to the 1960s when the state first regulated emissions from cars and trucks. While President Donald Trump was in office, California filed more than 100 lawsuits against the federal government, mostly over environmental issues.

Newsom has sought to build California’s influence through a series of ambitious executive orders that, if survived a lengthy and controversial rulemaking process, could transform the way people live. So far, Newsom has proposed banning all new gasoline cars in California by 2035, banning all oil drilling by 2045, and banning gas-powered lawn equipment sales by 2024 or whenever state regulators determine it is feasible.

Most recently, Newsom proposed a ban on new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of schools, homes and hospitals in the country’s largest buffer zone in a state that is the country’s seventh largest oil producer.

Newsom, who is not attending the conference in person, will affect the state’s influence “to some extent,” said State Assembly spokesman Anthony Rendon, a Democrat from the Los Angeles area. But he said Newsom doesn’t have to be in Scotland to be a leader on climate change.

Even so, Rendon said he was frustrated that the state was not moving faster.

“Our aggressive actions were cool when we thought the problem was progressing at a certain pace. Now I’m not sure if they are aggressive enough or immediate enough, ”said Rendon, who will be attending the UN conference. “It’s an opportunity to talk about what we’ve done, but at the same time light a fire under the bums of some of our MPs and develop a sense of urgency on an issue that is not just existential, but that is” immediately . “

Last month, Newsom easily pushed back a Republican-backed recall election aimed at removing him from office and cemented his power in the nation’s most populous state. The trip to Scotland would have been his most significant international trip as governor and would have given him a global platform to highlight his agenda and urge others to follow California’s lead.

Newsom is up for re-election in 2022 and is a strong favorite for a second term. Under California law, governors are limited to two terms.

It is unlikely that the cancellation of the trip would harm him politically, said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, professor of public policy communication at the University of Southern California. In fact, Newsom could have been harmed both politically and personally if he had participated, she said.

“The look of leaving the country, assuming something happens that requires his attention at home, would be completely negative,” she said.

“He won’t be able to socialize and network, but he will be visible,” she added. “As long as there is Zoom, as long as there is a means of virtual face-to-face communication, I don’t think it will go off the radar screen.”

Newsom had recently decided to attend the conference and was sending staff, media organizations and other lawmakers out to prepare for the trip. His decision not to go was just as abrupt and more surprising.

Hertzberg credits Newsom for putting his children first.

“At some point you will be human, as much as we want to be out there in politics. You have to take care of your family. And he does it, and I think that’s a good thing, ”said Hertzberg.

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