As a follow up to James Ketterer’s 2009 Year in Review, here is my part, which focuses on U.S. engagement on climate issues.
In 2009, it became clear that scientists are now observing, rather than simply forecasting, a global environmental crisis. New data on melting snow and ice formations, rising sea levels, deforestation, and atmospheric temperature changes emerged this year, during what is potentially the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Given the volatile U.S. economy, a major congressional battle on health care and an escalating war in the Middle East, it is a wonder that the government would have any money left to support the climate change agenda.
This year however, the climate debate would become less about choosing between the environment and the economy and instead about recognizing the direct economic, social and political impacts a global environmental crisis will have. In 2009, despite a weakened economy, a new set of domestic and international climate tools took shape, spurred in part by the UN Copenhagen Climate Change conference this month. Underpinned by greater financial commitments, enhanced regulations and new multilateral agreements, the global transformation towards a low-carbon future is accelerating. As we move in to 2010, we can finally look to the United States to provide more and more leadership through this transition.
Person of the Year
In less than 11 months since taking office, the Obama administration has done more to prevent climate change and promote clean energy, than what has been done in the past eight years. For this reason, Barack Obama is the Person of the Year.
Early on, the President put science at the top of his agenda in an effort to restore the U.S. as the world leader in science and energy technology. Upon taking office, the president appointed a team of talented scientists, spanning a variety of expertise including environmental research, marine ecology, Nobel Prize-winning physics and national environmental administration. Supported by this “Green Dream Team,” Obama has propelled wide-ranging climate initiatives back on the public radar. In March 2009, Obama launched the Major Economies Forum (MEF), to spur new dialogue among developed and emerging economies to combat climate change and promote clean energy. At the Pittsburgh G20 Summit, this past September, the president spearheaded an agreement for all G20 nations to phase out their fossil fuel subsidies. To coordinate clean energy research and development, major collaborations with China, India, Canada and Mexico emerged late this year. President Obama has also proposed partnerships with countries in the western hemisphere to advance energy security. An early product of this cooperation is Chile’s Renewable Energy Center, which receives technical support from the U.S. Department of Energy. Even more has been done domestically, to reduce U.S. emissions and to bolster a national clean energy economy.
Due to years of resistance, America is starting to lessen its environmental impact later than other countries. Still, after only one year in office, President Obama has begun to reverse the climate policies (or lack thereof) of the Bush administration and has demonstrated an encouraging readiness to nudge the U.S. back in to a position of climate leadership.
Most Unexpected Event
In 1998, President Bill Clinton was urged not to sign the Kyoto Protocol, on the basis that developing countries would not be required to lower their emissions, and the reduction burden would therefore fall on rich nations. In 2005, when the protocol became effective, President George W. Bush said that adhering to the Kyoto treaty would have “wrecked” the U.S. economy. The United States’ robust participation at the UN Copenhagen Climate summit is therefore, the most unexpected event this year.
This was the first year there was a “U.S. Center” at the conference and an array of U.S. keynote speakers, covering topics such as clean energy investments and “green” job creation. What’s more, the U.S. announced targets for controlling emissions, in time for the summit. By the end of this week, the president, along with his cabinet secretaries and other top officials, will have participated in the closing agreements in Copenhagen. Indeed, America’s emission reduction pledges are far from bold and there is room for greater accountability. Still, this somewhat unforeseen U.S. presence sends a signal that the Obama administration is re-focusing U.S. environmental policy towards increased transparency and the development of meaningful mechanisms to abate climate change.
What to Watch For
As the Obama administration begins slowly repairing the environmental legacy of its predecessor, two main themes will unfold, starting in 2010. First, domestic legislation and program implementation will gain momentum and exposure. The stimulus package, passed in February, put more than thirty-eight billion dollars into the Department of Energy for renewable-energy projects. Additionally, passing energy and climate legislation is now a top priority for the Administration and fair progress has been made. In June, The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act and most believe that the Senate will advance legislation by spring 2010. Should Congress ultimately fail to legislate the matter, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already begun moving forward with critical regulatory steps such as its newly published findings on carbon dioxide emissions. Next year, it is expected that the agency will begin setting broad performance standards for industries, starting with transportation and power plants.
Ramping up domestic action will result in a framework that will support greater international cooperation on climate issues. Financing, planning and innovations at home will lead to cross-boarder modalities for technology transfer, increasingly uniform data provision and overall, a more coordinated effort towards mitigation. International partnerships won’t be limited to large economies alone however. In a recent New York Times opinion piece, Hillary Clinton called for a “broad operational accord on climate change,” saying, “This is an opportunity to drive investment and job creation around the world, while bringing energy services to hundreds of millions of the world’s poor.” Emerging from the Copenhagen debate, and in to 2010, U.S. climate talks will include provisions for poorer nations to help them acquire the technology to limit emissions and cope with the droughts and climate migration. Under the new Renewables and Efficiency Deployment Initiative (REDI), billions of dollars in long-term financing has been committed to help developing countries cope with climate change, including $85 million from the United States.
Ideas on how to solve climate change are not new. However, this year, the underlying drivers to implement these ideas gathered unprecedented momentum. In the United States, this push was lead by Barack Obama and the team of scientists on his administration. Their participation at the Copenhagen conference is sending a signal to other major economies that is sure to overwhelm any remaining resistance and create a new set of market conditions.
The ultimate success of Obama’s environmental ambitions will depend on the combination of adequate financing, detailed regulation and cross-border collaboration that extends to poorer countries. Last April, Obama vowed to remobilize America’s investment in research and development to a level not seen since the space race. “The nation that leads the world in twenty-first-century clean energy will be the nation that leads in the twenty-first-century global economy,” he said. “I believe America can and must be that nation.”
