Obama: U.S. Will Lead Climate Change Fight

President-Elect Promises Quick Action In Message To Los Angeles Summit

(AP)  Calling climate change an urgent challenge, President-elect Barack Obama promised Tuesday that Washington would take a leading role in combating it in the United States and throughout the world.

"My presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change," Mr. Obama said in a video message to governors and others attending a Los Angeles summit on the issue.

In the roughly four-minute message, Mr. Obama reiterated his support for a cap-and-trade system approach to cutting green house gases. He would establish annual targets to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them another 80 percent by 2050. Mr. Obama also promoted anew his proposal to invest $15 billion each year to support private sector efforts toward clean energy.

President Bush has been criticized for failing to do enough to combat climate change and Mr. Obama has promised quick action to address the issue. He may have to start tackling the issue through administrative actions, given that leaders in the Democratic-controlled Congress have indicated that they aren't likely to act until 2010 on a bill to limit the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming.

At a news conference Tuesday, a coalition called the U.S. Climate Action Partnership — made up of 32 leading corporations, including electric utilities and oil companies, and environmental groups — urged Mr. Obama to press Congress to approve legislation next year for a mandatory cap-and-trade system to limit the release of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and other greenhouse gases. Opponents of such action argue controls on carbon dioxide emissions will increase energy costs.

Under a cap-and-trade program, the government would establish a ceiling on the amount of carbon dioxide that can be released into the air from burning fossil fuels. A utility or industrial plant would have to purchase emission allowances for every ton of pollution released. Anyone who exceeds the cap must either make pollution reductions or buy additional allowances, while those who cut emissions below the cap would be able to sell allowances. Initially the cap would be relatively high and then be lowered gradually to achieve the targeted pollution reductions.

Mr. Obama favors auctioning off all of the allowances and using the proceeds to invest in energy efficiency and alternative, non-fossil energy that does not add to global warming. Others argue the allowances should be provided for free to reduce the economic costs and then be freely bought and sold in the market place.

Several environmental groups praised Mr. Obama's focus on global warming, including Environmental Defense president Fred Krupp. He said Mr. Obama is "clearly rejecting the timid, business-as-usual approach" to dealing with climate and energy problems. "His plan to reduce emissions ...will jump-start job creation in new energy industries, and take a huge step toward solving climate change."

In his remarks to the summit, Mr. Obama criticized Washington for failing to lead on the issue in the past.

Said Mr. Obama: "I promise you this: When I am president, any governor who's willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that's willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that's willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America."

Scientists, environmentalists and government and industry officials were attending the two-day Governors' Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles, held ahead of a U.N. gathering in Poland next month.

Mr. Obama said he won't attend that conference but that he has asked Congress members who will to report back to him. "Once I take office, you can be sure that the United States will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations, and help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change," Mr. Obama said.

[trishab56]

With the price of gas way down and the recession underway, the average American is not going to favor a lot of spending on alternative fuels.

Posted by stlouisman3 at 07:46 PM : Nov 18, 2008

How convenient for the oil industry...no?
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Posted by ThinkHarder- at 08:56 AM : Nov 19, 2008

-I''m against Nationalization of Energy sector, but for sucha case, at the actual time, we need to do so if the future of Humanity and particularly for this Nation most beautiful state (after Mass.) Florida survival from possible flooding by rising Ocean waters, I''d say that a drastic cuts need to be done in greenhouse gas emission, nationally and worldwide... Under evil Liar935Bush (Ahhhh! How idiot!)it was a catastrophic FreeForAll. Nature was abused and still going on! A regulation needs to be instated asap. Removing the actual Oil companies Adminstrations or making them report to the government environmental agencies will make it possible to reach the National and world objectives of those greenhouse effect gas'' reduction.

[thinkharder-]

With the price of gas way down and the recession underway, the average American is not going to favor a lot of spending on alternative fuels.

Posted by stlouisman3 at 07:46 PM : Nov 18, 2008

How convenient for the oil industry...no?

[thinkharder-]

Just where do we get such fools as Obama, and Schwarzenegger.

There has been NO global warming at all in this century, and in fact none since 1995 save for a less than one year long El Nino lbip in 1998.

We are now in a rapidly cooling mode, and the promised kayak trips to the North Ploe this summer, got stuck in the ice along with their icebreaker. The ice is right now back to perfectly normal in area and somewhat thicker than normal. It started regrowth two weeks earlier than last year, despite cliams that all the polar ice would be gone in five years. And the polar bears are at all time record levels. Alaska is the only place on earth where you can''''t legally hunt polar bears.

Well if you Obamaites don''''t mind getting taxed into the poor house with this cap and trade scam, there are many americans who do mind.

There''''s not a single peer reviewed scientific paper proving CO2 as a cause for global temperature change; not even one; but plenty that show global temperature change causing CO2 change from ocean outgassing.

Posted by Seafang at 04:20 PM : Nov 18, 2008

I want to see all of your references because with regards to the data sitting in front of me, you are dead wrong on just about every statement you made.

[cheteunice]

With the price of gas way down and the recession underway, the average American is not going to favor a lot of spending on alternative fuels.

[seafang]

Just where do we get such fools as Obama, and Schwarzenegger.

There has been NO global warming at all in this century, and in fact none since 1995 save for a less than one year long El Nino lbip in 1998.

We are now in a rapidly cooling mode, and the promised kayak trips to the North Ploe this summer, got stuck in the ice along with their icebreaker. The ice is right now back to perfectly normal in area and somewhat thicker than normal. It started regrowth two weeks earlier than last year, despite cliams that all the polar ice would be gone in five years. And the polar bears are at all time record levels. Alaska is the only place on earth where you can''t legally hunt polar bears.

Well if you Obamaites don''t mind getting taxed into the poor house with this cap and trade scam, there are many americans who do mind.

There''s not a single peer reviewed scientific paper proving CO2 as a cause for global temperature change; not even one; but plenty that show global temperature change causing CO2 change from ocean outgassing.

[aldon61]

Posted by Obama_Dkhed at 03:48 PM : Nov 18, 2008

Looks like CBS jerked this guy''s three posts, good for them!

[aldon61]

But, let''''s cease with all this faux talk about "global warming." It''''s all BS created by you who intend on using it to steal freedoms from people everywhere.


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Posted by Obama_Dkhed at 03:48 PM : Nov 18, 2008

Been drinking Limbaugh''s and Hannity''s Kool-aid? Pull your head out of your A@@; this planet is hurting. Some of it may be naturally re-occuring, but the polution that we''re putting into it isn''t doing any good either. I know there is science on both side of this issue, but I''d rather error on the side of caution. Let''s clean our planet up!

[bjcone8559]

Finally, a president with a brain. And not a minute too soon.