by Rona Fried
Over the past couple of weeks as President Obama reached his first 100 days in office, news stations like MSNBC and CNN have been asking viewers what they see as his most important accomplishment to date. The answer: Obama's diplomatic efforts are raising the standing of the U.S. in the eyes of countries around the world. For the past eight years, the U.S. has been viewed as a thug, but Obama's willingness to open his heart and reach out his hand is changing our standing in the world for the better. Along these lines, his administration seems to working behind the scenes to break the logjam that has held the world back from aggressive action on climate change.
Last week, the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate - high-level diplomatic discussions on climate change - took place in Washington. Participants felt the discussions improved the likelihood of reaching an agreement on an international climate treaty by the end of this year. Countries representing 80% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions were there - there were hints that the U.S. is making headway on bringing China, India and other major developing countries into the fold, long a bone of contention in climate change agreements.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "As the world's biggest economies and the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters, they and the US have a "special responsibility" to address climate change," which she called, "a clear and present danger to our world." UN climate chief, Yvo de Boer, said, "The meeting was very positive and constructive. I saw none of the acrimony that I've seen in previous meetings of this kind."
Further meetings will be held at the end of May in Paris, in June, in Italy during the G8 summit, and possibly more after that.
But Will Obama Succeed in the U.S.?
As the news continues to pour in on the progression of climate change, occurring faster than even the most conservative projections, we watch with wonder at the continuing fight among US politicians as to whether and how much we should address it. Last week, massive ice chunks fell from a shelf in Antarctic, and researchers warned that 1,300 square miles of ice could break off in coming weeks.
Sure, the news from Washington DC is leagues better than it was under the Bush Administration. Just this week we heard the plant that heats the Capitol no longer runs on coal. The Bureau of Land Management announced it would invest $41 million from the Recovery Act to reduce the backlog of pending applications for solar and wind projects on public lands and to development transmission lines. A new 750 MW coal plant was nixed in Michigan, the latest of 75 coal plants to be canceled.
And a slew of studies show there would be enormous economic benefits from fast action on climate change. For example, the US EPA released an analysis that shows the average American household would pay about a dime per day, or $98-$140 a year, under the cap-and-trade legislation proposed by Reps. Henry Waxman and Ed Markey, American Clean Energy and Security Act. The dime a day would pay to reduce greenhouse emissions - it doesn't factor in the benefits of taking action. Dozens of studies show the enormous job creation potential of energy legislation.
