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SAN FRANCISCO – It's not easy to go green. Offer electric buses and some still choose the Hulking Suburbans. Demand paperless leaflets and some peddle their colorful leaflets.
At the World Summit on Climate Action, a three-day meeting this week, organizers hoped that mayors, governors, international leaders and other attendees would show the world that a great convention in a big way city must not leave traces of carbon.
Roundtables, speakers and networking events attracted more than 4,000 people to dozens of venues to encourage efforts to reduce carbon emissions in support of the Paris Climate Agreement. Local and state governments across the country have committed to the deal despite President Trump's statement that he would pull out the United States.
Few places could turn out to be more suited to such a challenge than this city, which boasts of recycling campaigns and restaurants that do not offer plastic straws.
For the convention, name tags were produced with recycled paper. Program details appeared in digital form. Recording panels powered by solar panels and metal detectors. Event – sponsored transportation focused on bicycles, cars and buses running entirely on electricity.
"The more we normalize the behaviors we want to see, the easier it becomes," said Jaime Nack, director of sustainable development for the conference.
But the conference proved that even those in the green space sometimes cling to carbon-based facilities.
Councilor Mike O'Brien of Seattle noted that some participants were commuting in oversized SUVs, while he repeatedly grabbed an electric bike to get around.
"To be fair, there are mayors and governors," he said. "I am only a member of the city council."
Chairman of the Board's Transportation Committee, Mr. O'Brien, said he would set the example to avoid overcrowding congested traffic lanes, although others people did not express the same conviction.
"This is the first time I've used an audience," O'Brien said of the electric bike. "I went to visit a friend in one of these hills. These things are kicking. I was very impressed.
Although not all governments and other leaders participated in the greening of the convention, others made efforts, even though it was not exactly what event organizers would have liked.
Mayor Alan Webber of Santa Fe, MN, tried to do his part, but he did it alone. On the wide-format electric bus with his flashing digital sign proclaiming "zero emissions," Mr. Webber was the only passenger on the 1.5-kilometer shuttle between the Fairmont Hotel and the Moscone Convention Center. , a route that is often uncrowded.
"It's important to send the right signals, to do what's right," Webber said.
The difficulty of aligning the philosophy of the conference with its execution was not lost for the protesters who gathered outside of certain events Wednesday and Thursday.
Adam Scow, California's director of environmental group Food and Water Watch, who helped lead the two-day event, said some of the companies sponsoring the conference had also funded or approved projects to increase carbon emissions.
Mr. Scow, for example, criticized Governor Jerry Brown for allowing increased oil drilling and continued use of natural gas fracking, while the governor also has state by 2045. The law was considered a bold move for California, the largest state to adopt such a measure and the second most important.
"We are not walking enough, and we are talking too much," said Scow. "As long as oil and gas production has not diminished, we will not be able to meet the challenge of climate change."
But the organizers of the conference presented the rally as part of the campaign for a carbon-free future. It was an opportunity for participants to make commitments to reduce carbon. And on the periphery, there were smaller initiatives.
Restaurants in the city have noted organic menus that often use local food producers, a practice that helps reduce carbon emissions from shipping. And the carpool companies Lyft and Uber, both based here, have done their own thing.
Uber offered bonuses to electric car drivers who took participants to the Moscone Center.
Brian Oden, a 41-year-old San Jose resident who drives an electric car – a Chevrolet Bolt – received an email Monday from Uber offering an additional $ 10 for the trips he made on Thursday and Friday.
"I plan to do it all day," said Oden.
As part of the final day of the conference, an electric car was to embark on a trip from California to New York in the hope of rallying the country to support the efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
"America is one of the only countries where climate change is polarized," said João Talocchi of the Purpose Climate Lab, which spearheaded the journey by car. "We have to change perceptions."
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