Blair, McCain lead pep rally at World Economic Forum
Let’s start the week with a bit of rhetorical optimism. In a high-profile speech this weekend at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland — a gathering of leading politicians and businessfolk from around ye olde globe — British Prime Minister Tony Blair offered a hopeful outlook for climate action. “I believe we are potentially on the verge of a breakthrough,” he told a packed hall, pledging to support nuclear energy and to work toward a new, binding international emissions agreement that is “more radical than Kyoto and more comprehensive, one which this time includes all the major countries of the world.” Decidedly naming names, Blair noted the “quantum shift” under way in U.S. climate politics. After the PM received a standing ovation, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) materialized, assuring those assembled that Congress and the Bush administration would act soon on climate change. “I admit it’s very late,” he conceded. At which point the satisfied crowd agreed, and retired for a nightcap.
