I don’t know much about President Obama’s game, but I’m guessing, based on his aggressive moves on climate change and energy since just about the moment he took office, that he’s not shy about driving hard to the inside to make points. I’ve been writing here since November about his appointments and initiatives and I’ve rarely been unimpressed. (See Obama Administration.)
Maybe it’s the incredible contrast. I love what Brian Urquhart, the extraordinary writer and witness to history said recently at the “NY Review of Books” in a characteristically fascinating article: “A fog of know-nothing ideology, anti-intellectualism, cronyism, incompetence, and cynicism has, for eight years, enveloped the executive branch of the United States government. America’s role in the world and the policies that should shape and maintain it have been distorted by misguided decisions and by willful misinterpretations both of history and of current events. That fog is now being dispersed, and the vast intellectual and managerial resources of the United States are once again being mobilized.”
This applies, positively, to climate change policy. The President, as you know, is going to London next week to attend the G20 summit. On the agenda are sustainable growth and economic stimulus, green and otherwise. Obama and Co. have been in the forefront, in my opinion, on the greening of economic development.
Now the President has called for a “Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate” to take place in Washington at the end of April and culminating in Italy in July. See this from the BBC and this from the “Washington Post.” The Post notes that White House believes “…the talks could help forge a basis for a broader U.N. climate agreement in December…” President Bush tried this approach last year and curried further disfavor with the international community for his insincerity on addressing climate change. See Plus ça change, … for commentary from April.
The feeling now is that President Obama is most definitely focused and wants these meetings to catalyze the conditions for a strong agreement in Copenhagen. Not incidentally, the US will be a much stronger presence than it has been for years, starting today at the UNFCCC meetings in Bonn. Et voila: That’s precisely the message from America’s top climate diplomat, Todd Stern. “Yes, the US will be powerfully and fervently engaged in this process,” is how he’s quoted in this from AFP.
Meanwhile, as another indication of how hard driving the administration is, here’s a key personnel move that says a lot: Cathy Zoi is going to be the new director of DOE’s critical Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Zoi’s not only an old government hand, having taken a leading role in creating the hugely successful Energy Star program at EPA and serving in the Clinton White House, but she’s been in the private sector, most notably helping to build the smart grid operations at Landis + Gyr. She’s another powerful, positive, progressive force who’s going to be pushing the envelope at DOE at precisely the time when the money and the focus are going to be on renewables and efficiency.
