Sen. Kevin De León leading delegation to Peru on climate change

Reporting from Sacramento —  State Senate leader Kevin De León (D-Los Angeles) will head a delegation of California officials attending a weeklong conference on climate change starting Sunday in Lima, Peru.

De León will be accompanied to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by members of the Brown administration including Matt Rodriquez, the secretary for environmental protection. Brown himself is not attending the conference.

The senator will be speaking at conference events including a discussion on pricing carbon emissions, the development of advanced transportation systems including electric vehicles, and the opportunities in California to continue tackling climate change, according to spokesman Anthony Reyes.

“The trip will provide opportunities to meet with and exchange ideas with countries, states/provinces, and cities around the world to collaborate on tackling this global problem,” Reyes said in a statement.

The travel costs of California officials are being covered by groups including the San Francisco-based Energy Foundation, a nonprofit group that funds environmental groups and receives its money from large endowments not involved in the energy industry, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a philanthropic group created by the grandchildren of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller.

The foundation funding is being transferred to state chartered nonprofits that work on climate policy, including the Climate Action Registry and the Climate Action Reserve, Reyes said.

“There are no industry or special interest group funds being used,” Reyes said. “There are no taxpayer or public funds being used.”