Jerry Brown brings ‘hopeful’ California story to climate change conference

Gov. Jerry Brown touted California’s environmental record Tuesday at a United Nations event in New York dedicated to spurring new action on climate change.

“The California story is a very hopeful one,” he said.

The event, which included politicians and business leaders from around the world, is intended to help lay the groundwork for a broad, international agreement on tackling climate change at a Paris conference next year.

Brown has been promoting California’s international role on the issue, signing partnerships with Mexico and provinces in China and Canada.

He said the state’s cap and trade program, which charges polluters fees, has been a success, and he pledged to continue defending it against critics who are concerned about higher gas prices.

Brown highlighted familiar themes in his remarks, warning that even though carbon-based energy has brought economic progress, the gains are unsustainable and threatening the environment through climate change.

“It’s real, it’s here, and we’ve got to put a price on carbon,” he said.

Follow @chrismegerian for more updates from Sacramento.