WASHINGTON, DC, November 21, 2008 (ENS) – The order of business in the incoming 111th Congress is beginning to take shape. When lawmakers convene on January 6, 2009, Democrats will be firmly in control of both houses, although today the outcome of several elections is still unclear.

When Democratic President-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20, both the White House and Congress will be in Democratic hands for the first time in 16 years.

For the environment, this means that climate change legislation will be on the front burner as soon as the new session opens.

The U.S. Capitol at sunrise. November 11,
2008 (Photo credit unknown)

Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who will continue to chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, announced Tuesday that she will introduce two pieces of climate legislation in January.

“The first bill will establish a grant program to reduce global warming emissions under the Clean Air Act with up to $15 billion a year available to spur innovations in clean energy, including advanced biofuels,” Boxer said.

Intended as an economic stimulus, Boxer said the bill follows President-elect Barack Obama’s recommendation.

Obama’s short video statement on climate change played at the Governors’ Global Climate Summit convened in California on Tuesday was “music to my ears,” Boxer said.

Obama said, “Few challenges facing America – and the world – are more urgent than combating climate change. The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. We’ve seen record drought, spreading famine, and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season.”

“My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process,” he said.

“Climate change and our dependence on foreign oil, if left unaddressed, will continue to weaken our economy and threaten our national security,” said Obama.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California
(Photo courtesy EPW)

“Clean energy means green jobs,” Boxer said, citing a new report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors estimating that by 2038, another 4.2 million green jobs could be added to the economy.

Boxer also will propose a bill amending the Clean Air Act that directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set up a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases that meets the goals laid out by the president-elect.

“This bill will reflect the strong partnership we will have with the new administration, and will focus on achieving the emissions reductions needed while restoring the economy,” said Boxer.

Boxer also announced her committee’s first hearing in the 111th Congress. “The hearing will take place as soon as possible after we convene in January, and will be entitled “How Fighting Global Warming is Good for the Economy and Will Create Jobs,” she said.

Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma
(Photo courtesy EPW)

Senate Democrats will have to contend with Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and a climate change denier. In his blog on the committee website, Inhofe claims that the planet is cooler now than when President George W. Bush took office and that Arctic ice is growing, not shrinking.

Over in the House of Representatives, the Democratic Caucus Thursday elected California Democrat Henry Waxman as chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

He replaces Michigan Congressman John Dingell, who has served for the past 28 years as chairman and ranking member of the committee. Dingell now will serve as chairman emeritus, but Waxman’s ascendency marks a shift away from the influence of the Detroit auto industry and towards cleaner energy and climate concerns.

Waxman said, “Some of the most important challenges we face – energy, climate change, and health care – are under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee. In large measure, our success as Congress will depend on how the Commerce Committee performs.”

“Enacting comprehensive energy, climate, and health care reform will not be easy,” said Waxman, but, “The public expects Congress and President-elect Obama to work together to find solutions to the nation’s most pressing problems.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, “Henry Waxman will bring to the post of Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee the outstanding leadership he has demonstrated as chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

“Under his leadership, the committee and the entire caucus will make progress toward making America energy independent, making health care available to all Americans, and addressing the greatest challenge of our time, global warming,” she said.

Congressman Henry Waxman of California
(Photo courtesy Office of the Congressman)

The replacement of Dingell by Waxman could affect the outcome of possible legislation offering financial assistance to the beleagured auto industry, which has requested at least $25 billion to stave off collapse.

Today, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent the following letter to the executives of the Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, calling on them to “submit a credible restructuring plan that results in a viable industry, with quality jobs, and economic opportunity for the 21st century while protecting taxpayer investments” by December 2.

“It is critical that you meet this deadline since we have announced we are prepared to come back into session the week of December 8 to consider legislation to assist your industry. We intend to give pertinent agencies within the executive branch, the Government Accountability Office, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, as well as outside experts, the opportunity to comment on your work,” Reid and Pelosi wrote.

Senator Inhofe calls higher fuel efficiency standards that may be a condition of the potential auto industry bailout, “environmental thuggery.”

In a speech on the Senate Floor Thursday, Inhofe said, “The proposed $25 billion bailout of Detroit now appears to have been hijacked by the powerful environmental lobby.”

Quoting a November 19 article in the “Wall Street Journal,” Inhofe said, “the auto bailout has degenerated into a tool to ‘make Detroit a subsidiary of the Sierra Club.’”

“We hear proponents of the auto bailout endlessly say it’s about jobs,” said Inhofe. “But the truth is, this bailout appears to be about environmental lobbies taking over the U.S. auto industry.”

The Congressional balance of power is set, but the actual seat count is still shifting.

Right now, in the Senate, the Democrats hold 55 seats, the Republicans hold 40, and there are two Independents – Joe Lieberman and Bernie Saunders, who caucus with the Democrats.

Three seats are vacant or undecided.

One Illinois seat is vacant as President-elect Barack Obama, a Democrat, has resigned. This seat will be filled by a replacement appointed by a Democratic governor.

Delaware does not yet have a vacancy, but Vice President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat, is expected to resign on or before inauguration day, January 20, 2009. His seat will be filled by a replacement appointed by a Democratic governor.

In Minnesota, the seat is held by Senator Norm Coleman, who won the 2002 election. While Coleman leads Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party challenger Al Franken by 215 votes, the race remains too close to call. The close margin triggered a mandatory recount, which began on November 19. The recount is not expected to be resolved for at least a month.

In Georgia, a run-off election between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambless and Democratic challenger Jim Martin is underway.

In the House of Representatives, the Democrats hold 255 seats, the Republicans hold 175, and there are no Independents. Five seats are vacant or undecided.

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LOS ANGELES, California, November 18, 2008 (ENS) – In Los Angeles today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger welcomed hundreds of attendees from more than 50 states, provinces and countries to the Governors’ Global Climate Summit. At the end of their two-day meeting, participants are expected to sign a declaration outlining their plans for turning climate goals into action.

The summit has already led to a signed agreement between U.S. governors and governors from Brazil and Indonesia to reduce forestry-related greenhouse gas emissions. It is the first state-to-state, sub-national agreement focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and land degradation.

“Tropical deforestation accounts for 20 percent of all human-caused carbon emissions in the world, and the governors signing these MOUs with us manage more than 60 percent of the world’s tropical forest lands,” Governor Schwarzenegger said.

“With this agreement, we are focusing our collective efforts on the problem and requiring our states to jointly develop rules, incentives and tools to ensure reduced emissions from deforestation and land degradation,” Schwarzenegger said. “We are also sending a strong message that this issue should be front and center during negotiations for the next global agreement on climate change.”

Clearing the Amazon rainforest in the Middle
Land, State of Para, Brazil, 2004. (Photo
© Greenpeace/ Alberto Cesar)

The agreement commits the U.S. States of California, Illinois and Wisconsin to work with the governors of six states and provinces within Indonesia and Brazil to help slow and stop tropical deforestation, the cutting and burning of trees to convert land to grow crops and raise livestock, and land degradation through joint projects and incentive programs.

It was signed by Governor Antônio Waldez Góes da Silva, Amapa, Brazil; Governor Eduardo Braga, Amazonas, Brazil; Governor Blario Maggi, Mato Grosso, Brazil; Governor Ana Júla de Vasconcelos Carepa, Para, Brazil; Governor Yusof Irwandi, Aceh, Indonesia; and Governor Barnamas Suebu, Papua, Indonesia.

“There is scientific consensus that the planet is close to a ‘tipping point,’ where continued growth in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will result in successively larger disruptions of global biogeochemical, ecological, economic and social systems,” summit organizers say in a statement introducing the two-day event. “The development of a strong action plan and a global consensus around a post-Kyoto climate accord will be critical if the world hopes to avoid the most catastrophic impacts from climate change.”

The summit is intended to create opportunities for consensus on climate issues ahead of next month’s UN climate change conference in Poland where governments will work towards a climate accord to take effect after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

Four U.S. governors who are working to curb climate change in their own states are acting as co-hosts – Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opens
the Governor’s Global Climate Summit.
(Photos courtesy Office of the Governor)

Governor Schwarzenegger says the summit is rooted in the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which made California the first state to impose a cap on all greenhouse gas emissions.

“When California passed its global warming law two years ago, we were out there on an island, so we started forming partnerships everywhere we could,” the governor said. “We teamed up with Great Britain, the Canadian provinces, the Western and Northeastern states and with states like those of my co hosts-Illinois, Florida, Kansas, Wisconsin and more. And right here, for the first time, we have officials from China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and across the world in the same summit, working toward the same goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and growing green economies in our own backyards.”

Following the governor’s remarks, participants saw a pre-recorded video message from President-elect Barack Obama.

“Few challenges facing America – and the world – are more urgent than combating climate change,” Obama said. “Many of you are working to confront this challenge, but too often, Washington has failed to show the same kind of leadership. That will change when I take office.”

Obama will not take office until January 20, 2009, so he will not attend the meeting in Poland, but he has asked members of Congress who are attending the conference as observers to report back to him on what they learn there.

Obama’s approach meets with the approval of Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. “This is exactly the kind of leadership the country and the world have been waiting for,” she said. “President-elect Obama’s statement makes clear that he’s ready to roll up his sleeves and deliver the action that is needed to protect our climate, our economy, and our national security. He is setting the right goals and choosing the right policies.”

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the Governors’ Summit is providing an opportunity for collaboration and sharing of views.

The Summit emphasizes a sectoral approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions with sector-specific breakout sessions focusing on specific actions in the forestry; cement, iron, steel and aluminum; energy; and transportation sectors. Together, these sectors account for the vast majority of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Today, officials from China, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and the European Union shared sectoral panels with NGOs such as the Nature Conservancy and the Climate Group as well as energy companies like BP America and Pacific Gas & Electric.

Participants at the Governors’ Global Climate Summit

Participants heard Leon Panetta, former White House chief of staff and co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission outline ocean policy priorities for the incoming Obama administration and Democratic-controlled Congress.

Panetta urged the new administration to establish a coherent national ocean policy, improve federal coordination of ocean science and resource management, and invest in ocean science to better understand and predict climate change and its impacts on oceans and coastal economies.

Tomorrow, the day will begin with a message from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and will feature a dialogue among the governors and world leaders on what responses the climate challenge has evoked.

“Florida’s rapid progress has been possible only through partnership agreements with the United Kingdom and Germany, and with the help of my good friend, Governor Schwarzenegger,” Florida Governor Charlie Crist said. “Progress comes only as we work together – not at the expense of future economic growth – but as a necessity for the future prosperity of all nations and states.”

“This Summit is an opportunity to strengthen important relationships with business and government officials nationally and internationally and develop climate change strategies that will save us money, create jobs, help secure our world and improve our air and water,” Wisconsin Governor Doyle said.

“There is an incredible opportunity here to get our nation’s economy back on track by creating green jobs and becoming a world leader in the development of clean energy technologies,” Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius said. “In Kansas, our farms and fields can produce tomorrow’s energy through biofuels and clean, renewable wind. Rural America is going to play an important part in securing energy independence for our nation.”

“Illinois has been a leader in the Midwest and nationally in developing innovative strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change,” Illinois Governor Blagojevich said. “Playing a leading role in the Governors’ Summit will give us a chance to meet with world leaders and to learn from each other about how to most effectively tackle this urgent global issue and accelerate the transition to a low carbon society.”

Showcasing the economic success of California’s environmental leadership, the Governors’ Summit features more than 30 clean-tech companies displaying green technologies including electric cars, solar-powered flashlights and non-toxic cleaning products during the two-day Climate Solutions Showcase.

To ensure that the summit leaves no carbon footprint, EcoSecurities is donating voluntary carbon offsets from its portfolio to neutralize 100 percent of the emissions associated with the event. The offsets being used are high quality voluntary emission reduction credits, selected to honor visiting country representatives, as well as highlight the first two agricultural methane projects listed by the California Climate Action Registry.

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KYOTO, Japan, June 30, 2008 (ENS) – The world must galvanize its will and reach a new agreement on measures to fight climate change by the end of 2009, said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sunday in the Japanese city where the Kyoto Protocol was finalized.

The secretary-general arrived in Japan on Saturday, kicking off a two-week, three-nation official visit to East Asia which will culminate with his participation at the annual summit of the Group of Eight, G8, industrialized countries in Hokkaido early next month.

Ban said he chose Kyoto as his first stop because he wants to “send out a very symbolic political message from the place where the Kyoto Protocol was adopted more than 10 years ago.”

“We have resources; we have technologies. I think what is missing is largely political will. If we have united political will, I am sure we will be able to overcome these crises,” the secretary-general said.

Ban said the 1997 protocol was a historic and crucial first step by the international community to curb greenhouse gas emissions. With the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ending in 2012, the secretary-general stressed that a new agreement must be adopted by December 2009, a target date already agreed by governments at the UN climate summit in Bali, Indonesia last December.

“Last year, we witnessed how working together can help us forge a path to collective action in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges,” Ban told an audience of students, scholars and representatives of the private sector and civil society at Kyoto University.

He said climate change is too big and complex a challenge for any country or sector of society to address alone; each country and each sector can and must contribute.

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, known as IPCC, provided the science; the Stern Report, the economics; the UN High-Level Event on Climate Change, the political leadership; Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth, the public awareness. Taken together, all these contributed to rising momentum and achieving a significant breakthrough in the global response,” he said.

“This came in the Bali Roadmap agreed last December, which launched a new negotiations process to design a comprehensive post-2012 framework,” said Ban.

The secretary-general called on all major emitters to set ambitious targets which he said were essential to conclude the deal in 2009.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left,
meets Yasuo Fukuda, Prime Minister
of Japan, in Kyoto. June 30, 2008.
(Photo by Eskinder Debebe
courtesy UN)

He commended Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan “for the impressive vision he recently announced for moving Japan to a low-carbon society – including Japan’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 to 80 percent by 2050.”

On June 9, Prime Minister Fukuda said in a speech at the Japan Press Club, “We must greatly shift the country’s helm towards a low-carbon society for the sake of future generations.”

“For this we must halve global CO2 emissions by the year 2050. This reduction target forms the crux of the ‘Cool Earth Programme’ which Japan has proposed to the world. I aim to have this goal shared by the G8 and other major economies,” the prime minister said.

Commenting on this announcement, Ban said, “This is the kind of leadership by example we need from developed countries to fulfil the larger share of responsibility they bear.”

The secretary-general said he would count on Japan’s leadership at the G-8 summit to come up with concrete measures to address three pressing, interrelated challenges – the global food crisis, climate change, and the race to reach global anti-poverty targets called the Millennium Development Goals by the deadline of 2015.

Climate change was the focus when Ban met Japanese business leaders in Tokyo later in the day. Speaking to about 30 senior executives of leading Japanese corporations, the secretary-general said support and cooperation of the private sector is vitally important to addressing pressing issues such as climate change.

“The race is under way to develop and provide needed solutions, such as clean technology, renewable energy, efficient products and processes, and sustainable goods and services,” he said. “I have no doubt that the Japanese companies will play a leadership role in this new era of responsible and sustainable business.”

Ban said he was excited by his first visit to Japan as secretary-general. “Japan’s leadership cannot be more important than today as it is assuming the presidency of the G8,” he said.

On Monday, he had an audience with the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and held meetings with Crown Prince Naruhito, Prime Minister Fukuda and Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura.

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Most of today’s leaders are meeting in Bali for an enormous climate conference. The main objective of the summit is to arrive at a first draft of a treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol [www.sundancechannel.com]. The US was one of the few industrialized countries steadfast in its refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol [www.sundancechannel.com]. One can only hope that the new version of the climate treaty, tentatively scheduled to start in 2012, will include enticing provisions to convince George Bush or his successor to sign on behalf of the US.

It seems likely that the leaders of the Bali conference will lean towards developing a market regulated carbon credit system as the backbone of any successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol [www.sundancechannel.com]. Countries like the US and China have expressed support for carbon credit systems. Carbon credits would allow efficient companies to sell carbon credits to inefficient, polluting companies. To many people, this seems like a cop-out, as polluting companies can just throw money at the problem rather than taking steps to be a more sustainable operation. However, the hope is that these big companies might decide to stop throwing away money as these losses begin to add up every year. In any event, if natural resources [www.sundancechannel.com] and pollution are included in the free market system, it definitely heralds some improvement upon the do-nothing solution of the present.

What kind of treaty would be good for the world? If you were one of the world leaders present at the climate summit in Bali, what measures would you put forward to replace the Kyoto Protocol [www.sundancechannel.com]?