Posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 by Joanna Klonsky
Before a cheering crowd of millions (WashPost) at his inauguration on Tuesday, President Barack Obama called for a “new era of responsibility ” in the face of serious challenges confronting the United States.
Obama said the United States would “begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.” He also promised to work “tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.”
Obama characterized his administration’s approach to relations with the Muslim world. “[W]e seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” he said.
He also promised to work to relieve poverty around the world. “To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds,” Obama said. “And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect.”
Posted in Afghanistan, Climate Change, Energy Policy, Iraq | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
President-elect Barack Obama’s newly announced energy and environmental leaders are not likely to lack for ideas for addressing energy and climate change concerns, given the public interest reflected on change.gov, the transition’s own website. A new feature of the site, Your Seat at the Table, allows organizations and members of the public to track the transition’s daily activities, and to leave comments and post policy ideas for Obama’s team.
One unconventional policy proposal that has been posted to the site involves harnessing solar power (PDF) created by orbiting satellites and transporting it for use back on earth. Such a program would likely cost billions and take years to implement, say some space experts. The plan, called Space Solar Power (SSP), hasn’t been endorsed by the new Obama energy picks, but the Wall Street Journal’s WashingtonWire reports that “some transition team members are known to look favorably on the general idea.”
The Boston-based Clean Air Task Force has also posted policy recommendations for the Obama team. The group urges Obama to focus on limiting pollutants other than carbon dioxide to stop climate change. It points to so-called “short-lived pollutants” such as black carbon, methane, and tropospheric ozone that also contribute to higher temperatures.
Proposals from other groups, including the New Mexico Sierra Club, the AFL-CIO, and the Consumer Energy Alliance, are also available for public viewing and reaction on the site.
For more on Obama’s energy and environmental team, click here.
A CFR Task Force Report outlines a strategy for confronting climate change.
This interactive CFR.org Crisis Guide take an in-depth look at the issue.
Posted in Climate Change, Energy Policy, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama announced his nominees (Bloomberg) for energy secretary, Environmental Protection Agency chief, and head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality at a press conference in Chicago on Monday. The Los Angeles Times looks at reactions to the picks among scientists and environmental groups.
GLOBAL HEALTH: A report from the Washington-based nonprofit Institute of Medicine released Monday recommended that Obama double U.S. health aid to poor countries by 2012 and appoint a White House global health czar.
Posted in Climate Change, Energy Policy, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, December 15th, 2008 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama is expected to announce (WashPost) his energy and environmental policy team at a press conference in Chicago on Monday.
CUBA: McClatchy looks at possible changes to U.S. policy toward Cuba under the Obama administration.
Posted in Climate Change, Cuba, Energy Policy, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said Thursday he believes the Senate will allow (Reuters) President Barack Obama to sign a UN climate change pact in Copenhagen next year, even if climate change laws have not yet been passed in the United States by that point. Still, Kerry stressed, “What’s important is that we go to Copenhagen understanding that no treaty is going to pass the U.S. Senate unless it is a global solution. China, India, Russia — all countries have to be part of the solution.”
Posted in Climate Change, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly selected his nominees (WSJ) to top energy and environmental posts in his incoming administration. His picks will face a tall policy order, including dealing with the challenges of climate change, decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, and converting the country to alternative energy sources.
Obama has promised to invest $150 billion over ten years in private alternative energy efforts in hope of creating five million new “green” jobs. He also plans to create an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. On the campaign trail, Obama said he would make sure ten percent of U.S. electricity comes from renewable energy sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025 (PDF).
Though Obama has not formally announced his nominees, here is a look at the experts he is likely to tap to carry out this agenda:
Carol Browner: Browner, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under Bill Clinton’s administration, is said to be Obama’s nominee for the new post of White House “energy czar.” Browner is currently principal of the Albright Group LLC, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s consulting firm.
Steven Chu: Chu, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, is Obama’s probable pick for energy secretary. Chu was an early voice on the dangers of climate change, and has in his role at Berkeley Lab worked extensively on developing carbon-neutral energy sources. In his new role, Chu will be charged with the managing the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and with seeking a solution to the mounting energy challenges facing the country.
Lisa Jackson: Jackson was most recently the New Jersey commissioner of environmental protection. She will reportedly be nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Jackson served as a top EPA enforcement officer in Washington and New York for sixteen years. If selected, she will be the first African-American EPA chief.
Nancy Sutley: Sutley, the deputy mayor of Los Angeles, will likely be Obama’s selection to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Sutley previously served as energy adviser to California Gov. Gray Davis’, and as deputy secretary for policy and intergovernmental relations with the California EPA. Under the Clinton administration, Sutley was senior policy adviser to the EPA’s regional administrator in San Francisco, and was a special assistant to the Federal EPA’s administrator in Washington.
For more on Obama’s campaign promises and record on energy policy, see this CFR.org Issue Tracker.
For profiles of Obama’s Cabinet picks so far, see CFR.org’s Transition 2008 page.
Posted in Climate Change, Energy Policy, Transition | 1 Comment »
Posted on Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden met with former Vice President Al Gore on Tuesday to discuss the new administration’s policy on climate change (AP).
DEFENSE: The New York Times looks at the decision Obama will have to make over whether the United States should keep building the F-22 fighter jet.
Posted in Climate Change, Energy Policy, Military, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
Though the incoming presidential administration has indicated its first priority will be repairing the troubled U.S. economy, President-elect Barack Obama emphasized throughout his campaign that combating climate change will also be a top agenda item. Obama plans to reduce U.S. greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050, and has pledged to create millions of “green jobs.” At a symposium on policy and strategies to combat climate change Tuesday, business leaders seemed to agree Obama should institute a federal cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions.
Here is a roundup of some of the main ideas presented at the event:
Former Rep. Phil Sharp (D-IN), president of Resources for the Future, a non-profit environmental research firm, said action on climate change should not be delayed due to the global economic crisis, and called specifically for a price to be imposed on carbon immediately. ”We need some greater clarity in the rules of the game, especially where new investments need to be made,” like in new power plants, assembly lines and other infrastructure, Sharp said. He encouraged policymakers to ensure that the transition to carbon pricing is eased for low-income groups and for industries and regions that will be particularly hard hit by the change.
Vicki Arroyo, Executive Director of the Georgetown State-Federal Climate Resource Center, pointed to regional participation in greenhouse gas accords as evidence of a growing mandate for legislative action on climate change. Still, she pointed to economic turmoil and unstable gas prices as challenges to effective government action. Arroyo said it is important for the United States to “rejoin the table” in international negotiations around climate change. She said a lack of presidential leadership has contributed to failures of climate change legislation in Congress in recent years.
Richard Saines, a partner at Chicago’s Baker and McKenzie LLP, noted evidence of an “Obama effect”—a renewed “spirit of cooperation and hopefulness” on climate change. He predicted concrete commitments from the Obama administration at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
Thomas Cushing, vice president of the Chicago Climate Exchange, a private cap-and-trade program, said the business community would benefit from a carbon price. “When there’s a price for emitting a ton of carbon, it allows industry to plan rationally for the future,” Cushing said. “One thing that companies abhor is uncertainty.”
John Rowe, Chairman and CEO of Exelon Corporation, reiterated calls for a cap-and-trade program. The CEO of a major nuclear energy company, Rowe also said he “cannot conceive” of dealing with the challenge of climate change without a “substantial number” of new nuclear plants.
The scientific evidence on climate change is conclusive, Rowe asserted. “To ignore it would be an act of blindness or arrogance.”
Posted in Climate Change, Economy, Energy Policy, Transition | 1 Comment »
Posted on Friday, October 24th, 2008 by campaign2008
Following news of new statistics on U.S. jobless claims, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) outlined his economic agenda in a speech to supporters in Indianapolis on Thursday. Obama discussed his plan to create five million green jobs over the next decade-”jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and fuel-efficient cars; jobs that will help us end our dependence on oil from Middle East dictators.”
Foreign Policy has created an “Electoral Map of the World” based on Gallup polls on the U.S. presidential election conducted in 70 countries.
Posted in Climate Change, Economy, Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 by campaign2008
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) for president on Sunday’s Meet the Press, saying the Democratic candidate represents “a new generation coming onto the world stage.” Powell, who helped justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003, said he anticipates a “continued drawdown” of troops from Iraq regardless of who wins the November election.
In an interview with the Today show Monday morning, Obama said Powell will serve as an adviser in his administration, and said he was already serving in that function before the endorsement announcement.
CLIMATE CHANGE: The New York Times compares the candidates’ approaches to climate change, noting that they agree that the Bush administration’s policies on the issues were “far too weak.”
Posted in Climate Change, General Election, Iraq | 0 Comments »
