President Obama takes climate change seriously and as promised is forging ahead on that front. A CNN poll in January showed that 77 percent of Americans also viewed helping the environment as urgent and only
second to health care. The U.S. will definitely be involved in a new climate treaty to be signed in Copenhagen, December of this year. This treaty will be quite a bit different from the Kyoto Treaty that failed to consider the economics of such a huge commitment worldwide. This time around all countries involved will be better prepared and plant to go beyond just greenhouse gas emissions. There needs to be money and technical assistance to help developing countries with climate change also. And we all must be in this together or it simply will not work. The air doesn’t have barriers.
Just the fact that President Obama is ready to fully commit the U.S. has “set off a flurry of diplomacy around the globe,” according to a NYT article. It also reported that the U.N.’s top climate official and Secy. General are organizing a high level meeting on climate and energy. Britain and Denmark have already visited the White House on climate issues. And Secy. of State, Hillary Clinton has suggested a partnership between China and the U.S. An envoy from China is coming here soon.
Even though most countries worldwide are suffering an economic downturn, it hasn’t put a damper on attempting another treaty. Limiting emissions has already started albeit unplanned.
The economic downturn has had a side effect of lowering emissions with many industry polluters who cut back on production, shipping/trucking is down, and daily commuters to the work place have become less and less.
Many feel this is not the right time to tackle climate change, that we need to stabilize the economy first, but with what—polluting industry again? What an extremely backward move that would be. Others have the foresight to see this is the opportune moment to tackle climate problems not only through limiting emissions but also nurturing much needed NEW economic growth potential in green industry. As John Ashton, the British foreign secretary’s special rep. for climate change stated: “The number one thing will be for everyone to see that the U.S. is on an urgent and transformational path to a low carbon economy—that would have a galvanizing effect.” Transformational is the key word.
So, as many an environmentalist has surmised, a simple move by the U.S. toward environmentalism shoulda, woulda, coulda made a big difference long ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/science/earth/01treaty.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&th&emc=th