Apr 19 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - David Funkhouser The Hartford Courant, Conn.

The moment he strode into Woolsey Hall Friday afternoon, late but just in time for a photo op, Arnold Schwarzenegger changed the climate of Yale's austere gathering of governors and gave the sweltering crowd a boost of energy -- and a lot to think about.

In what was intended as a historic replay of a landmark meeting on conservation called by President Theodore Roosevelt 100 years ago, Yale brought together governors and officials from several states this week to sign a declaration calling on the federal government to get moving on climate change.

Schwarzenegger came to sign the declaration and to deliver his own brand of eco-politics: As a fiercely independent Republican governor of California, he perhaps has done more to fight global warming than any other governor in the nation. And he makes no bones about his differences with Congress and the Bush administration.

"In California, we say don't wait for Washington, because Washington is asleep at the wheel," he said. Like many who spoke at the conference, he is looking to the next administration for decisive action: "Things will begin to pick up speed after Inauguration Day."

That sentiment matched the central theme of the conference, which was that states have moved far out in front on the issue, and the federal government needs to work with them when developing climate policy.

"Today, we recommit ourselves to the effort to stop global warming and we call on congressional leaders and the presidential candidates to work with us -- in partnership -- to establish a comprehensive national climate policy," states the declaration, signed so far by 18 governors.

The statement urges Washington to support state efforts already underway and provide both mandatory measures and financial incentives for states. Three dozen states already have or are considering programs to confront climate change.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell welcomed the crowd and earned praise from speakers for her efforts on global warming, including the state's participation in a regional program to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The program sets up a cap-and-trade system that limits emissions and charges companies for permits to emit carbon dioxide, one of the key heat-trapping greenhouse gases associated with global warming. The first auction of such permits is scheduled for September.

The state legislature's appropriations committee on Friday approved a climate change bill that would begin to set mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions. The bill still needs final approval by the House, the Senate and Rell.

In Washington, Congress is negotiating over a bill co-sponsored by Connecticut independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman that would set up a nationwide cap-and-trade system. At issue are mandatory emissions caps, and whether industry will have to pay for permits to emit CO{-2}.

Joining Rell and Schwarzenegger in signing the declaration on the stage in Woolsey Hall were Govs. Jon Corzine of New Jersey and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. The governors of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington also have signed.

Also on stage were representatives from Mexico and the Czech Republic and two Canadian provincial premiers, Jean Charest of Quebec and Gary Doer of Manitoba, both heavily involved in the issue. Charest announced Friday that his province will join a climate-change initiative involving a coalition of western U.S. states.

Yale also brought in Nobel Prize-winner R.K. Pachauri, head of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to speak at the signing Friday afternoon.

Pachauri dismissed skeptics of global warming and said the world is unquestionably on a path of development and consumption of the Earth's resources that cannot be sustained.

Impacts already are being felt, he said, and "lifestyles will change."

He warned that without action now, irreversible changes in climate could lead to melting of the massive Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets. Such events would send sea levels up several meters "and put at risk several hundreds of millions of people," he said.

"The good news," he said, "is that mitigation is not an expensive proposition." He noted states' efforts have already shown some economic advantages that in the long run could outweigh the costs. He said the most important thing nations can do is to put a price on carbon, to incorporate incentives into the economic system.

The afternoon's ceremonies began without Schwarzenegger.

But as Rell, Corzine and Sebelius posed for photos after signing the declaration, Schwarzenegger walked onto the stage, rousing the crowd to applause.

Schwarzenegger gave the audience a boisterous dose of optimism and reality.

"People are not going to give up their energy-burning cars and TVs," he said, chiding environmentalists for running campaigns "powered by guilt."

"I don't think any movement has made it far on guilt. Successful movements are built on passion," he said. He also criticized activists and outdated environmental laws for putting obstacles in the path of cleaner energy solutions, such as a huge solar array proposed for the Mojave Desert.

"If we can't put solar power plants in the middle of the Mojave Desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it," he said.

He urged the audience to keep an open mind and not shun collaboration with corporations or political opponents.

"I am optimistic" about attacking the problem of climate change, Schwarzenegger said. "You can feel the big things moving. ... You can feel the momentum. Things are about to move our way."

Theodore Roosevelt IV, grandson of the president who convened the 1908 meeting, spoke at a private dinner at the Yale Law School Thursday evening.

A noted environmentalist who works for the investment bank Lehman Brothers, he warned of a growing economic inequality in America that threatens social cohesion.

While most in the room would generally agree on economic and environmental policy, he said, for most Americans, "downward mobility is the threat, whereas upward mobility was the promise."

This disconnect, he said, means many citizens do not trust their government and may feel environmentalists stand in the way of their economic progress.

What's needed, he said, is "a Square Deal for the 21st century" that also considers the public's needs for economic security, health care and education.

Contact David Funkhouser at dfunkhouser@courant.com.