Climate Politics

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  • Defending the Cantwell/Collins CLEAR Act

    Sen. Maria Cantwel (D-Wash.)Sens. Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Collins (D-Ill.) have introduced a welcome addition to the debate over climate change legislation in the Senate. Their bill, with its strong architecture, and simple, fair, and transparent emissions reduction, can help restart the momentum to agree to climate change legislation early next year before the prospect of […]

    Michael A. Livermore Politics

  • Why Cantwell-Collins is best — and how it just might win

    As U.S. climate legislation creeps forward, Senators now have two frameworks to choose from.  One is from Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); the other is from Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).  Both begin with descending carbon caps that, along with supplementary policies, promise to reduce carbon […]

    Peter Barnes Politics

  • Canada—or practical jokers?—announces bold new climate position

    UPDATE: The Yes Men come clean. Read this, and watch the video: Original post from Dec. 14: If only it were true. This has all the makings of a Yes Men project, which is too bad, because it would be wonderful news if it were true: Canada Announces New Agenda For Climate and World Development […]

    Jonathan Hiskes Politics

  • The one real story out of the first week of Copenhagen

    Reading about the Copenhagen climate talks has been like tuning into a telenovela: Crossed signals! Secret betrayals! Tempestuous threats! The entire UNFCCC climate framework has seemed to teeter continually on the brink of implosion. But for all the noise and fury, the there was, in my opinion, only one genuinely new story of significance and […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Heading into the second week of Copenhagen … the arc of the negotiations

    Wow!  Has it really only been a week of the international global warming negotiations in Copenhagen?  Based upon the intensity of the debate you would think that we are down to the wire in the second week of the negotiations.  After all, these negotiations often only get finalized in the wee hours of the final […]

    Jake Schmidt Politics

  • What to make of the Cantwell/Collins CLEAR Act

    Maria Cantwell Last week saw two interesting developments in the ongoing saga of the U.S. Senate’s struggle with a climate/energy bill. First, Sens. John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, and Joseph Lieberman released the framework for the bill they’re working on, which basically amounts to the bill the House and the Senate Environment committee passed plus a […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Merkley counsels Obama on how to make ‘cash for caulkers’ work

    In his much-anticipated jobs speech last week, Obama introduced a program meant to encourage energy efficiency retrofits for residential housing; it has since become known as “cash for caulkers.” On Tuesday, Obama will host a discussion at a Washington-area Home Depot focusing on the economic benefits of retrofits and soliciting ideas for how such a […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Locke-in-Copenhagen:

    Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has a well-earned reputation as a sharp, level-headed, practical leader. Most people wouldn’t describe him as a visionary. But in his excellent speech yesterday in Copenhagen, he laid out the case for profound transformation, and the explosive economic opportunities that come with it. Check out this passage (emphasis in bold is […]

    KC Golden Politics

  • Cantwell’s cap-and-trade bill: almost genius

    Sen. Maria Cantwel (D-Wash.)To borrow Dave Eggers’ book title, the novel approach to cap and trade proposed by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. Genius, because it is an innovative plan to create a best-case version of cap and trade. And heartbreaking, because by design and by omission it undermines […]

    Alan Durning & Eric de Place Politics

  • In Copenhagen: island nations confront big emitters

    Cross-posted from The Nation. Big news from Copenhagen today, where the divide between big emitters and at-risk nations deepened, threatening the prospects of reaching a climate deal for President Obama and other heads of state to sign when they arrive at the summit next week. In a day of major developments, the Alliance of Small […]

    Mark Hertsgaard Politics